Blooming friendship
by ignotumscriptor
Summary: Lincoln trying to figure out what his relationship with Ronnie Anne is. Is she a friend? A great friend? Definately not a girlfriend. Right? With sisters thrown in the mix and a bit of adventure. Rated T for minor blood and injury. Reviews are appreciated - all criticism is welcome. Chapter 2 art by icecreampizzer @ Deviantart. Cover and chapter 9 art by Silent-Sid @ Deviantart.
1. Chapter 1

As Ronnie Anne was approaching, Lincoln tried not to look like he was staring. He couldn't help but get excited every time they managed to spend some time together. It wasn't like no one knew they were hanging out – his sisters definitely knew and he had to tell his parents if he was going to be late after school. Bobby probably knew as well. But they still tried not to be seen around school – their friends sure knew how to make things awkward.

That's why this Wednesday Lincoln told his classmates he was going to wait for his sisters to pick him up after school. As soon as everyone left and he had said goodbye to Clyde, Lincoln went to the spot behind school where him and Ronnie Anne were going to meet. And now that she had finally finished her classes and was coming towards him, Lincoln was both happy and a bit anxious.

"The way it usually is, I guess." he thought to himself.

"Hey, Lincoln. You look happy to see me. Hope I didn't make you wait too long." Ronnie Anne said as she got to him, the usual smirk on her face.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean, I didn't mean…"

"Heh, heh. Take it easy, Lincoln. I'm not gonna bite." she said laughing as she started their walk home.

"I knew that." Lincoln awkwardly said as he caught up to her.

"You are such a dork." Ronnie Anne teased smiling. Lincoln also smiled. He took it as a compliment. It sure was an improvement over the names she used to call him. And he was glad they could just spend some time together.

"So, um… how was school today?" Lincoln asked trying to start a conversation.

"Annoying. Dull classes all day long. We don't even have P.E. till next week." she said mildly annoyed.

"The only thing keeping me from dying of boredom was knowing we can meet after school."

"It was?" Lincoln asked surprised.

"Sure. Wish we could do it more often." Ronnie Anne said nonchalantly.

Had she turned to look at Lincoln at that moment, she would have seen him blush. He really liked these little outings they had. It would have been much better if he knew exactly what they were though… They weren't dates, that's for sure. Ronnie Anne wasn't into all the mushy romantic stuff. Lincoln wasn't either. He was trying not to make things any more awkward than they already were. Even after the whole thing at Jean Juan's. If it meant they had to be just friends in order for him to be sure they would continue seeing each other, so be it. Yet he couldn't help but brighten up every time she complemented him, or every time she made a joke, or every time she smiled. Was that normal friend stiff? He didn't think that was normal friend stuff.

"I… I like hanging out too, Ronnie Anne."

And there it was again. The little smirk that made her face shine. Lincoln hoped against hope he wasn't blushing again. Ronnie Anne gave him a playful tap on the shoulder as they continued walking side by side. She was so close… Her hand was right there. There were no classmates around to see…

"Hey Ronnie Anne, can we… can I hold your… Can I hold your h…" he stuttered, trying to finish his sentence. She was looking straight at him. He couldn't do it.

"I bet she'd pulverize me for even saying it, let alone doing it." he thought.

"Hold my what?"

"H… bag! Yeah that's it - carry your bag. It looks heavy. Heh." Lincoln nervously said, trying to recover.

"My bag? I'm ok, it's not any heavier than usual. What's gotten into you?" she asked, rising an eyebrow.

"Have you been watching Lori's high school dramas again?"

That was a close one. Lincoln didn't feel like coming home sore today. Or was it worth the risk… Maybe a few bruises weren't that big of a deal…

"Hey we're almost there." Lincoln promptly changed the subject. They were approaching the corner where they went their separate ways home.

"You, um… wanna do this again tomorrow?" he asked. Maybe then he'd have the courage. Or maybe he could bring padding.

"Nah, not tomorrow."

"Oh…" was Lincoln's reaction. Didn't she want to see him again? Did he get too clingy? He knew he shouldn't have made things awkward.

"I've got a better idea." she said with a smile. "We can go to the skate park tomorrow."

Lincoln was relieved – she hadn't just gotten fed up with him.

"But everyone from school that has roller blades, a skateboard, or a bike will be there. They always go after classes." Lincoln pointed out. "Won't they see us going together?"

"I've got it all figured out. See, there's another skate park in town. It's brand new and it's right next to the high school on Ivy Street – we'll have to walk a bit to get to it, but there won't be anyone there. Bobby told me when their classes ended there and if we go straight after school, we should have an hour all to ourselves." She ended the sentence with a grin, waiting for Lincoln's reaction.

"Wow, that sounds amazing, Ronnie Anne!"

"I know, right? I don't know how long it'll be before everyone finds out about it, but until then we can totally make it our thing."

"I can't wait to hit the ramps with you. We'll have so much fun together!" Lincoln thought out loud. He couldn't hide his joy.

"Glad you like the idea. I think my classes finish before yours tomorrow so I'll wait for you there. Don't forget your skateboard." She said as she turned the corner and waved goodbye, heading home.

"I won't. See you tomorrow." Lincoln said happily.

He was smiling all the way home. Tomorrow was going to be awesome! They were going to see the new skate park and they were going to try new tricks and they were going to be… all by themselves... Lincoln swallowed hard. It wasn't a big deal, right? It's just a friendly… get together, isn't it? It wasn't like she asked him out or anything… right? Lincoln was starting to get anxious again.

"Don't get yourself all worked up." He said to himself out loud.

"You don't have to make it weird, Lincoln. You're just going to meet a friend and have a good time after school tomorrow. Nothing more, nothing less!"

Still, he made a mental note to finish all of this week's homework when he got home. He didn't want to have anything he had to do after the skate park. Who knows, maybe after that they could hang out some more? Would him wanting to spend the whole afternoon with her be too lovey-dovey? Would she be annoyed if he asked for something like that?

Lincoln let out a big sigh as he stopped in front of his house.

"You'd think worrying too much about tomorrow would be my only problem." he said as he turned towards the camera.

"But in a family like mine nothing is as simple as it seems. I'll have to be extra careful not to let my sisters know or things will get even more complicated. And they can practically smell when I'm nervous. There'll be no end to the questions and advice and general butting in if they found out."

With that he turned towards the door.

"Wish me luck." he said as he reached for the handle and went inside.

Later that night as Lincoln finally got into his bed, he caught himself smiling unwittingly again. Most of his sisters were busy this evening. He got to ask Lisa what the weather was going to be like tomorrow and she had said it would be a perfect day. The only one who noticed him being more excited than usual was Lucy, but he managed to convince her that he just couldn't wait for the full moon tomorrow – good thing he had an assignment on that.

"I understand how you feel – supernatural activity is always at its highest when the full moon rises." she had said.

Lincoln had even managed to ask his mom if he could come home later tomorrow if he showed her all his finished homework. She had agreed and even though he had to tell her what he was going to be doing, all she had commented was "Have fun and be careful. I expect you to be responsible.". Lincoln didn't know what she meant exactly, but he had managed to ask her when everyone else was watching TV, so unless he talked in his sleep again, none of his sisters would be the wiser and that's what was important.

"Tomorrow is going to be great." he whispered to himself.

And as he was falling asleep, Lincoln's thoughts drifted towards all the things that were going to happen tomorrow – a bit of annoying school stuff and then a beautiful sunny day, and then some awesome skating, and Ronnie Anne smiling…


	2. Chapter 2

Lincoln could hardly wait for all of his classes to be over. And it wasn't just because they were as boring as always. He was going to have a blast at the skate park! With Ronnie Anne!

He had to leave a lot of his books at home in order to hide his skateboard and helmet in his backpack but he knew he could always share Clyde's. His bro always got his back. And he always had words of encouragement.

"You'll do great, Lincoln! But remember – don't try to impress Ronnie Anne too much. You don't want to outshine her and make her feel bad." he had said.

"Outshine her? I'll be lucky if she doesn't wipe the floor with me. And if I do one up her, she probably will. Literally." Lincoln had replied half-jokingly.

And now that the final bell rang, he gave Clyde a wave goodbye and went towards the restrooms to wait for everyone else to leave so no one would see where he was going.

When he thought the coast was clear and everyone in the bathroom had left, Lincoln exited the building and headed towards the high school where the skate park was. He was so excited he was practically running. The anxiety from yesterday was gone – whatever was going to happen was going to happen and he wasn't going to worry about it.

When Lincoln finally got there he saw the new skate park – there used to be an old parking lot there and it was less than a block away from the high school. It was completely empty too! The ramps and rails where all theirs. And speaking of "them", Ronnie Anne was supposed to already be here. As Lincoln reached the first handrail he started looking around for his… friend. Yeah, that was it – friend. She had to be here somewhere, probably already practicing something she'd use to show him she's better than him with a skateboard.

"A skateboard? Why is a skateboard lying on the ground here? Wait!" Lincoln thought. "This is Ronnie Anne's skateboard. What's it doing here by itself?" he asked himself as he picked up the bright red board and started looking for its owner again.

"She has to be around here - she wouldn't just leave it like this." he thought as he walked in the direction he thought the board had rolled from.

"She must have stopped somewhere around here." he thought as he reached the base of one of the ramps. But as he got to it what he saw on the ground was…

"Blood?"

Now Lincoln really got worried. There were at least a couple of bright red stains on the hard cement ground.

"This isn't good." is what came to mind and right as he was about to start shouting Ronnie Anne's name, a sound caught Lincoln's attention. It was coming from behind the ramp and it was… sobbing?

Lincoln ran around the quarter pipe and dropped the skateboard he was holding as he saw Ronnie Anne sitting, holding her leg. The sound of the board hitting the ground startled her and she turned towards the noise. Lincoln's heart sank as he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. He felt a pain inside of him not unlike the one he always felt when one of his siblings got hurt. He had to help her. He'd do anything for her right now.

As soon as she saw Lincoln, Ronnie Anne sharply turned her head away and tried to wipe her tears with a hand stained in red. As she did that she tried to turn so that her legs were away from him. Was she trying to hide she got hurt?

"Ronnie Anne! Are you ok?" Lincoln exclaimed at the sight.

"I… I'm fine!" she said while trying to stop her sobbing.

"What happened? Let me take a look." Lincoln asked as he got closer.

"It's nothing! I just slipped!" she said annoyed, trying to wipe the blood from her hand.

As he got to her, Lincoln reached out for Ronnie Anne's left arm and even though she wouldn't look at him, still trying to quell her tears, she didn't resist him taking a look at it. She had hit her elbow bad. The skin was scraped and it was all red. But that wasn't the worst part. The little drops of blood on the concrete around her weren't from her arm.

"Ronnie Anne, you hit your knee real bad!" Lincoln exclaimed as he saw the right leg she was trying to hide from him. It had hit the ground when she had fallen - it was still bleeding and her right palm was red from her holding it.

"It must have really hurt." Lincoln thought, feeling awful for Ronnie Anne. "I have to do something!"

"It's nothing! I just fell!" Ronnie Anne said irritated, finally looking at Lincoln, tears still in her eyes.

She pulled her arm away from him and he didn't resist.

"Did she come here to hide so that no one would see her being hurt?" Lincoln thought, making him even more upset.

"We have to get you bandaged." he said as he got his bag off of his back. He rummaged through one of the front pockets and pulled out bandages and a bottle of disinfectant.

"You have to show me your leg, Ronnie Anne!" he said firmly.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" she said angrily. "And why do you carry bandages around with you anyways?"

Lincoln kneeled in front of Ronnie Anne and tried to carefully stretch her leg in front of her despite her protests.

"I can give you ten reasons for that later, now hold still." He said as he unrolled a bandage. He got some of the disinfectant on it and started wrapping it around Ronnie Anne's bleeding knee as gently as he could.

"Ow!" she exclaimed as the liquid touched her wound and it began to sting.

"I'm sorry if it hurts, but we have to get it clean." Lincoln said as he continued bandaging her knee.

"It doesn't hurt at all!" Ronnie Anne said annoyed even though more tears were welling up in her eyes.

Lincoln was really upset from seeing her like this but he had to forget about that right now. He had to make her feel better as soon as possible. He was going to think about being sad or worried, or guilty later.

"I'm going to have to tighten it so it doesn't come off." he warned as he remembered the knot that Lisa had taught him.

"Whatever. I don't care if…" Ronnie Anne started saying but abruptly stopped as Lincoln tied the bandage and it hurt even more. She bit her lip but didn't let herself groan.

"There. All done." Lincoln quickly let go of her leg as not to hurt her any more that he had to. "Now show me your arm. We need to bandage that too."

He sat next to Ronnie Anne and reached out for her arm. Reluctantly she stretched it out and then quietly watched him pull the sleeve of her hoodie back and repeat the process of applying disinfectant on the bandage and wrapping it around her wound. The girl once again flinched as it stung but she didn't let out a single sound. Lincoln didn't know if she was being brave or stubborn but he couldn't help but find it endearing. She was trying to act tough even though there was no one around to see her. Was she doing it to look tough in front of him or was she always like this?

Lincoln tied the bandage as gently as he could and let go of Ronnie Anne's arm.

"Happy now? You know, you just wasted your time." she said looking away again as she tried moving the bandaged limb.

"Yes, thank you for letting me do that." Lincoln replied with a smile on his face as he put the bottle back in his bag. He stood up and extended a hand towards Ronnie Anne. "Can you walk like this?" he asked with worry in his voice.

"Of course I can walk!" she said irritated while standing up. "I'm not a baby! Stop treating me like…" she started saying but as soon as she put some weight on her leg, she groaned and stumbled to her right side. Lincoln reached out quickly and got a hold of her before she could fall.

"Let go! I told you I'm fine. I've had worse falls than this!" she said angrily while trying to push his hands away.

"That's it!" Lincoln said as he put her to sit back down. He couldn't bare this anymore. "I've had it with your tough act!"

He swung his bag on his back and reached for the skateboard on the ground.

"You're hurt and I'm going to help you whether you like it or not!" he said as he put the board between his pack and himself. "Be as stubborn as you want, I'm doing this." he said with determination as he turned towards her

"If you think you're going to…" Ronnie Anne started saying but couldn't finish her thought because Lincoln reached down, grabbed her by her shoulder and her legs as gently as he could and lifted her off of where she was sitting.

Ronnie Anne was speechless for a moment as Lincoln looked around to find the skate park's nearest exit. He found it and started carrying Ronnie Anne that way. Her house was closer to here than his, he was going to get her there in no time.

"What do you think you're doing? Let go of me!" she exclaimed.

"That's not going to happen." Lincoln replied sternly.

"If you don't let go of me right now, I'm going to pummel you into next week!" Ronnie Anne threatened as he was steadily walking along the way towards her house.

"You can pummel me all you want later. I don't care. Now hold still." Lincoln replied.

"If someone sees us like this I'm going to kill you!" she said desperately.

"Fine. Kill me. I'm still doing this." he said. He wasn't sure whether trying to hold her hand was worth the risk of bruises yesterday, but he sure knew that he didn't care one bit about a beating if it meant getting Ronnie Anne home as soon as possible today. He had never been surer of anything.

"You're the worst!" she said, hitting him with her bandaged hand and immediately regretted it. Tears started welling up in her eyes again and Lincoln didn't know if it was out of pain or frustration. Whichever it was, when the first one rolled down her freckled cheek, he had to look away and concentrate on walking. He felt that if he saw her cry again, he might tear up himself. All he wanted was for her to be OK and seeing her hurt and angry really upset him. It was normal to be this upset about your friends getting hurt, right?

"Grab onto me with your good arm." he said, still not looking at her. She didn't protest this time and silently complied, making carrying her a little easier.

Lincoln knew the neighborhood well and took the shortest way to the Santiagos' house. He hurried as much as he could while being careful with Ronnie Anne and in five minutes they were in front of her door. Even if someone had seen them on the way, Lincoln didn't notice. And he didn't care.

"You can let go of me now!" Ronnie Anne said with ire in her voice. Lincoln ignored her and rang the doorbell with his elbow, suffering through her fidgeting.

When the door finally opened Bobby stood on the other side.  
"Lincoln, Ronnie what is…" he started saying before seeing the bandages on his sister's arm and leg.

"What happened?" he asked as he reached out and took Ronnie Anne from Lincoln.

"Nothing happened! Why is everyone carrying me around today? Let me go!" she started getting even angrier once her brother had also seen her in her state.

Bobby also ignored her protests and got her into the house and onto the couch in the living room. Lincoln didn't enter as he didn't want to upset Ronnie Anne any more than she already was.

"Is it even possible to make her more upset?" he thought, getting her skateboard from behind his backpack.

He could hear angry shouting from inside. Right as he was thinking of just closing the door and leaving, Bobby came back into view. He looked awkwardly back at the living room and loudly said:

"Lincoln, Ronnie Anne says you did enough and should go home now." After he said that Bobby leaned down towards Lincoln and whispered: "Sorry Linc, Ronnie Anne really doesn't like people seeing her like this. I'm sure she's real grateful… I think. Maybe."

"It's OK, Bobby." Lincoln replied. "Can you just give her this and tell her I'm sorry if I messed up?" he said as he handed him Ronnie Anne's skateboard.

"Sure dude." Bobby replied. "And thanks for everything."

Having said that he promptly turned back into the house and went into the living room.  
"It's ok, Ronnie, your big brother is here for you." Lincoln could hear through the door, followed by more shouting. At least it sounded like Ronnie Anne's lungs were ok.

After that Lincoln started his walk home. He was a mess of emotions right now. He was worried about Ronnie Anne and he was happy he got her home, and he was worried about what she was going to do to him tomorrow, and he really wanted to see her again... This was exhausting. At least he had some time to think it over until tomorrow.

"Maybe I should write my last will before I meet Ronnie Anne again…" he thought as he trudged along. "Maybe I could get Lucy to help me out."

 **AN:**

 **If you guys would like to see the picture that inspired this chapter and much of the story, go to Deviantart dot com and search for icecreampizeer and his pic called First Aid.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

Lincoln was right – he did have a lot of time to think things over on his way home. But his inner voice wasn't offering much comfort.

"What were you thinking, Lincoln? Carrying her to her house? What are you, married? You have Bobby's phone, she has Bobby's phone – anyone of you could have called him. You could have called Lori to pick you up. Heck, you could have called an ambulance if you thought Ronnie Anne was that hurt. But no, you had to be a knight in shining armor! She's tough, you know that, she could have probably walked. You could have supported her if you really wanted to help her that much – she could have limped to her house. It's just five blocks away, you knucklehead!"

His thoughts continued on like this for the entire trip home. The only thing keeping him from getting totally stressed out was the way he felt when he saw Ronnie Anne.

"I couldn't help myself – she looked so hurt and vulnerable. I had to do something, right? That is kind of a good reason to act like an idiot, right? Right?"

He wasn't too sure about that but he really couldn't help himself feeling the way he did.

Absorbed in thought Lincoln reached home and went inside without a second thought. He dropped his backpack next to the door and went straight up to his room, not even noticing the usual chaos around him. As soon as he got to his room, he kicked his shoes off and propped himself onto his bed with a groan. Maybe he could sleep through the rest of the day and not think about what happened. He had finished all of his homework after all.

As that thought went through his head, the door to his room opened and Lori barged in. Lincoln didn't bother lifting his head – he could tell all of his sisters apart just by the sound of their footsteps. There was a slight pause as Lori was accessing what she was looking at.

"Ok, Lincoln, what's the deal? You know I can tell when you're upset."

"It's nothing, Lori, leave me alone." Lincoln said through his pillow, sisters being the last thing he wanted to deal with right now.

"Oh, I know it's not nothing. I asked mom where you were today and she told me you went out to meet Ronnie Anne." Lori said smugly.

Lincoln let out a muffled groan.

"So I want to hear everything about it, mister. If it concerns your dating life and my Bobby-Boo-Boo-Bear's family, then I have to know."

"I don't have to tell you anything, Lori, leave me alone." Lincoln repeated, still not moving from his bed. He really didn't need to go through everything that happened today again.

"Oh no?" Lori replied. "How about I go into the living room and tell everyone where you were today. I bet they'd have a thing or two to say about it. Or ninety." she said with a sly smile on her face.

With that Lincoln finally sat up in his bed and looked at his sister angrily.

"Fine. I did see Ronnie Anne and it didn't go well and I am confused and upset. Happy now?" Lincoln said, feeling even worse than before now that he had voiced his feelings about what had happened in front of someone who could judge him, perhaps harsher than he did himself.

But as Lori saw how downtrodden her brother looked, her expression changed. She really could tell when her siblings were upset and it was serious this time – something had really gotten to Lincoln and made him riled and confused.

"Lincoln, you have to tell me what happened." she said with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, or else you're gonna call in the meddle brigade, I get it." Lincoln said with annoyance.

"Forget them." Lori said, putting a hand on Lincoln's shoulder as she sat next to him on his bed. "Just tell me what got you so upset. As a little brother to his older sister. I'm here to help." she said softly, looking him in the eye.

Lori's behavior wasn't what Lincoln was used to but he somehow felt reassured by the rare display of sisterly concern from his biggest sibling. Maybe he needed someone to talk to. Someone to help him with the mess that were his thoughts right now. He managed the smallest smile.

"Ok, Lori. I'll tell you."

Lincoln took a deep breath. This was going to be rough.

He started with the fact that him and Ronnie Anne were secretly meeting after school. Then he told her about her idea to meet at the new skate park. He described what had happened today without even trying to sugar coat it – he didn't feel like lying to save himself embarrassment. He even told his sister how he felt when he saw Ronnie Anne being hurt. Every bit of worry, sadness and urge to help her any way he could were laid out in front of Lori. Lincoln was going to get everything off of his chest.

All the while she was listening to her brother, Lori didn't speak a word, didn't crack a single sarcastic remark. She was just taking everything in.

"And now I don't know if I did the right thing or not. I just wanted to help, but I got really carried away. I didn't listen to Ronnie Anne at all and just did what I wanted and now she's mad." Lincoln finished his story.

He hadn't noticed when he had leaned onto his sister and she had put an arm around him. Even though it was a little embarrassing he decided not to pull away just yet.

Lori didn't voice her opinion for a few moments, picking her words carefully.

"Lincoln, I'd normally be… a bit mad at you." she said, trying to be as gentle as possible. "You should always respect a lady's wishes. Ignoring anyone's opinion is rude, but being pushy with a girl just makes you the worst kind of jerk. And you should especially never touch a lady unless she wants to."

Lincoln blushed. The guilt was welling up in him again. How could he have been so stupid?

"But..." Lori continued, gently pushing Lincoln away so that she could face him. "You seem sincere and your intentions were noble." she added. "You did what you did because you were worried about her and because you wanted to help." Lori paused as she felt a vibration in her pocket. Hearing his sister's words of approval, Lincoln was starting to feel a little better.

After she had read the messages Bobby sent her, Lori continued.

"And I have the feeling Ronnie Anne also understands how you feel." she said with a smile. "You acted on your instincts when you saw someone you cared about being hurt. No one can blame you for that. Not even you." Lori finished, ruffling Lincoln's snow white hair.

The boy smiled faintly. His feelings were no longer trying to wrestle each other inside of his head. He still wasn't sure Ronnie Anne wasn't going to rearrange his face for doing all he did, but he at least knew one thing about his emotions - he felt like anything Ronnie Anne could say or do was worth her being ok today. Well… maybe anything she could do to him. Lincoln really hoped she wouldn't want to just stop meeting with him. These thoughts made Lincoln realize something.

He looked up at Lori somberly.

"Me and Ronnie Anne aren't just friends, are we?" he asked.

Lori couldn't help herself but smile. Her little brother was starting to pick up on the workings of the human heart.

"That is for you and her to decide together. Now that you know how you feel, all you need to find out is if she feels the same. Just promise me that you will never do anything Ronnie Anne doesn't want to." Lincoln's sister added with a serious tone.

"Of course not!" he replied. Was Lori giving him the weird advice that his mom had done earlier? "I'll be as careful and as gentle as possible. I'll be…" Lincoln struggled with finishing his sentence. "The best boyfriend I can be." he finally said with certainty.

Lori had to try to stifle the tears building up in her eyes. Her little brother was growing up so fast.

"I know you will be. I'm proud of you Lincoln." she said and kissed him lightly on the forehead, "Just be sure to tell Ronnie Anne how you feel." Lori added as she got up from Lincoln's bed.

She opened the door and was about to leave Lincoln to himself when he called out.

"Lori."

The biggest Loud sibling turned towards him again, the sisterly expression still on her face.

"Thanks. You're the best." Lincoln said with a timid smile.

Lori just nodded and left the room as she knew that if she stayed any longer, she would impulsively hug her adorable little brother.

After finally being out into the corridor she started walking to her and Leni's room. She allowed herself the tiniest of squeals. Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were so cute together she could hardly stand it.

"It is a true testament to the Santiago-Loud love." she thought as she imagined her brother and Ronnie Anne as bridesmaid and groomsman at hers and Bobby's wedding.


	4. Chapter 4

After Lincoln told Lori all he had to say, he felt a relief that almost made him not fear for his relationship with Ronnie Anne. Or his well-being. He wasn't exactly happy with the situation, content maybe. He knew how he felt and what he had to do, there was no point in worrying. This kind of reminded him of how he felt earlier – before going to the skate park. Lincoln just hoped no one would get hurt this time. For his sake.

Not wanting to dwell on the past or the future, he decided to take his mind off of both and find something to do besides shut himself off in his room.

"If there is one thing you can rely on in this house…" Lincoln said, turning to face the camera. "It's that you can always find a distraction around. Or ten. Any day, at any waking hour you can bet there is someone up to something and they are probably looking for a teammate, a victim or a partner in crime. The only difference this time is that participation will be voluntary on my part."

And true enough, as soon as Lincoln opened the door to his room, he heard an excited call from the other end of the corridor.

"Linky!" Leni shouted as she happily started towards him. "I was just looking for the right sister to make a new outfit for! Lucky you." she said with a smile taking Lincoln's hand and pulling him to her room.

"But Leni, I'm your brother." he said as he let himself be dragged into his sister's latest fashion makeover.

"You say tomato, I say potato." she reassured him as she closed the door behind them. "You're going to love these new fabrics I got! They are perfect for the outfit for your little party."

"What party?"

"Red is your favorite color, right?" Leni merrily asked as she dug through her drawers for a tape measure and pins, not noticing his confusion.

"I like orange…" the boy answered as he watched his sister take out a big bolt of bright red fabric.

"Then it'll be, like, a totally new look." Leni said with a smile as she took a few pins and turned towards Lincoln. "Now hold still." she added melodiously.

And with that Lincoln's second biggest sister started all the measuring, cutting, trying on and adjusting involved in making a new outfit. Lincoln couldn't help but get infected by the merriment that she always exuded, even more so when she was engaged in one of her favorite pastimes. The happy banter and the occasional pin prick were the great distractions that Lincoln had hoped to find. He thought that this wasn't as bad as he remembered – if there was no one around to document the wacky outfits he had to put on.

"All right, Linky. I'm totally done. I've got all the measures and I have it all figured out." Leni finally said, being happy with her work.

"But what is it exactly?" Lincoln asked, wearing a jumble of different length fabric pieces, several kinds of sleeves and even sticky notes with lengths and measurements on them.

"It's not ready yet, Lincoln. I'm going to make this totally gorgeous and it'll take some time. And I'm sorry but you can't look – you'll ruin the surprise."

"I wasn't going to…" Lincoln started saying.

"No excuses, mister!" his sister said, taking everything off of him. "You'll see it when it's ready. And you'll totally love it!" she said merrily as she pushed him towards the door. "Now go play, I'm going to get started right away. Hey, that rhymed!"

And with that Leni closed the door behind Lincoln and left him in the hallway. He sometimes felt that his sister was from a different planet. Or maybe all girls were. Ronnie Anne sure was difficult to understand sometimes.

"Oh, no! I'm thinking about her again!" Lincoln frantically thought as he looked around the corridor for something to distract him. Or someone.

Luckily for him right as his own thought process decided to betray him, Lynn got out of her and Lucy's room all the while kicking a hacky sack and counting to see how long she could keep it airborne.

"Hey Lynn, need someone to pass that around with?" Lincoln asked as he got to her.

"Sure." she said before her expression turned into a suspicious frown. "Wait a second, how come you suddenly want to play anything with me? Do you need protection from Lola again?" she expressed her concern without failing to keep kicking the footbag.

"What? No! I just want to spend some quality time with my favorite sport loving sister, that's all." Lincoln said with a nervous smile.

"I'm not so sure about that... But hey, you hardly ever want to play so..." Lynn replied, kicking the little sack towards her brother.

And with that Lincoln found something to occupy himself with until it was dinner time. Him and Lynn weren't too bad of a duo neither. That is until the game of hallway hacky sack turned extreme with nine additional obstacles thrown into the mix once everyone started coming out of their rooms. Then it was more of a survival challenge than anything else.

Sufficiently distracted and a bit tired after the time spent with Lynn, Lincoln let the usual pandemonium of the kids' table at dinner time drown any unwanted thoughts.

He couldn't keep the care free attitude forever though as after supper one by one everyone started retiring to their rooms for their school night activities. That left Lincoln in his room alone with his thoughts again. And that wasn't a good thing.

He tried to concentrate on his evening routine to keep himself busy but the thoughts about a certain dark haired girl kept surfacing constantly.

Lincoln made sure his backpack was ready for tomorrow.

"I guess I won't be needing the extra space for a skateboard this time. I bet Ronnie Anne would get mad just seeing it."

He grabbed the comic book issue that he had meant to read tonight.

"Somehow damsel in distress stories are not as fun as usual. Seems less realistic – the girl being rescued doesn't shout death threats at her savior."

He then tried watching TV with some of his sisters.

"Figures that it'd be romantic drama night." he thought. Not that Lincoln didn't watch those with his siblings, it's just that he couldn't bear to watch how perfect Rosario and Alejandra were for each other right now.

He went into the bathroom to brush his teeth alongside everyone else.

"Did Ronnie Anne talk differently after she fell today? Or was she just extra mad? I hope she didn't hurt her teeth. She has the smile of an…" Lincoln had to stop his own thoughts right there before he started sounding like Clyde when he talked about Lori.

Surrendering to the onslaught of his own thoughts, Lincoln let his brain take him wherever it saw fit as he finally got to bed.

"I should have just listened to her. Acting like a hero around her was so stupid. What was I thinking? Seeing a little blood doesn't mean she needs rescuing. It means she needs a hand to stand up, not some idiot to carry her half way across the neighborhood like a kid. She's probably so embarrassed. And mad at me. I wonder if I still have Lynn's old jockstrap. Maybe if I just apologize to her she'll be a bit more merciful. Or maybe I can convince her that I act weird at the sight of blood. Except that instead of feeling sick I start acting like a moron. She'd probably buy that."

More such thoughts raced on in Lincoln's head and he wondered if he was going to be able to sleep with all this worry, but remembering his conversation with Lori from earlier gave him the reprieve needed to be able to doze off and finally get some much needed rest.

But even in his sleep Lincoln had it rough. He had a dream where every time he tried to talk to Ronnie Anne he would trip on a skateboard and she'd get mad at him for it. Lincoln didn't know why she got upset but he felt that it was really unfair that this skateboard kept following him around.

As the new day came this night's dreams quickly faded and gave way to the reality of a Loud house morning. The same frantic readying, eating and running late as always. Except for some reason Lincoln felt sore all over. Did he strain himself that much yesterday? He didn't think Ronnie Anne was that heavy. And he couldn't have been carrying her for more than… Now that he thought about it, Lincoln decided not to dwell too much on it... Again. He focused on the mayhem that was the process of everyone leaving for school and it all went as usual. Breakfasts were eaten, shoes were found and car seats were taken - as normal of a Loud morning as it could get. All except the wink that Lori gave him as they all got off of Vanzilla. She still believed that Lincoln didn't act like a complete idiot yesterday and that was surprisingly reassuring – he was going to meet Ronnie Anne and they were going to talk everything out like…

And then a sobering thought came to Lincoln. What if she just didn't want to see him again? What if she decided that she has had enough of him? Him and Ronnie Anne weren't in the same class – he couldn't be sure that they would just bump into each other randomly. And she wasn't obliged to meet him so that he could try and apologize. After all the commotion yesterday neither of them thought about setting up another… get together. They didn't even talk about meeting after school today. Everything that had gone through Lincoln's head when it came to Ronnie Anne relied on him at least having the chance to explain himself. Or grovel if all else failed. He couldn't do this over text message, could he? Then he wouldn't be able to properly beg for mercy. Heck, Lincoln's plan partially relied on Ronnie Anne punching him until she felt better. Maybe he could go to her place after school… Then again if she didn't want to see him she probably wouldn't even bother answering the door.

Lincoln felt light headed. He sat down next to his buddy Clyde, trying to assure him that he wasn't going to pass out. The young Loud needed to steel himself and survive classes until lunch time came around. Then he could at least try thinking of something.

Lincoln somehow managed to push through the school day with the worst thing that happened being him getting a B on his history report – turns out that Ronnie Reagan wasn't the fortieth president of the United States. He wasn't sure whether he had gotten good at mindlessly suffering through his classes or whether this was his lucky day.

Though the latter seemed unlikely as neither him nor Clyde could see Ronnie Anne in the cafeteria during lunch nor anywhere in the corridors during recess. At one point Lincoln's friends started getting suspicious as to why they were constantly looking about and idling around the hallways.

All else failing, the only thing Lincoln could do was go to his and Ronnie Anne's meeting spot and hope for the best. If that failed, he guessed he could call her – if she hadn't already blocked his number.

"You'll do great, Lincoln. You just gotta go in there and firmly tell her that… you're not gonna be so pushy from now on… Or something like that. Good luck!" Clyde said as he once again left Lincoln to face Ronnie Anne alone.

And there he was – at the same spot where this all began some twenty-four hours ago. Lincoln couldn't decide between restlessly pacing around and nervously sitting on the side of the stairs leading to the school's back entrance. All the while he struggled with his thoughts.

"Okay, Lincoln…" he thought. "There's a slight chance that she might come here again today. Maybe she thinks it'll be easier to destroy your face here and now rather than later. And you'd better hope she does too, because tomorrow's Saturday and your chances of meeting her go down to zero. So if she does decide to come and introduce your face with the pavement, then maybe, just maybe you'll have the chance to say something to convince her to not stop meeting you forever."

But now that it got to it, Lincoln wasn't even sure what he would say if she actually came. He had to think of an excuse, or an apology. Or maybe he could somehow justify that he acted like he was saving a helpless princess from her peril? Surely he couldn't just tell her that… the last thing he would want was for him to never see her again. And that he'd do anything to make her feel better so that she could stop being angry at him. Just so that they can at least keep talking to each other… So that he could still see her every day after school…

He could never say that! She'd kill him on the spot for turning up the cheesy romance they both agreed to avoid after being exposed to it so much by their older siblings.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…" Lincoln chanted in frustration as he tapped the side of his head with his fist.

"I'm not gonna argue." Lincoln heard a familiar voice behind him. And as he turned, he saw Ronnie Anne coming towards him in all of her intimidating majesty. The scowl on her face reminded Lincoln of past encounters with her fists.

She wore her favorite hoodie over a pair of long blue jeans she had swapped her regular shorts with. All in order to hide whatever bandage was still on her knee after yesterday, no doubt. Her long sleeves covered any sign of injury on her arm as well so to anyone not aware of what had happened at the skate park yesterday, it just looked like she had gone for wardrobe diversity.

But as she walked towards Lincoln, he couldn't help but notice a slight limp when she put her weight on her right leg. Before any thought of self-preservation could go through his brain, he instinctively reached out towards Ronnie Anne.

"Are you OK, Ro…" he said before putting a hand over his own mouth to try and stop whatever other stupid thing was going to come out next.

Ronnie Anne was mad now. Her clenched fists started to tremble as she got to Lincoln, the anger boiling up in her for him treating her like a kid again.

Forgetting anything he might have thought of telling her, Lincoln just started saying anything that came to his panicked mind.

"I am so sorry, Ronnie Anne! I shouldn't have overreacted yesterday. I shouldn't have ignored you and I shouldn't have carried you like a damsel needing rescue."

Hearing Lincoln recount his embarrassing escapades from yesterday, the angry girl raised her fist, ready to make him regret his poor choice of actions yesterday and his poor choice of words today.

At this point Lincoln fell to his knees, arms clutched in front of him pleadingly. He didn't care for any beating that he had surely brought upon himself – he only wanted to say everything that was on his mind. Closing his eyes in anticipation of the first blow, he continued as fast as he could.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to what you said, and I'm sorry for touching you without asking you…"

Ronnie Anne had had just about enough embarrassment for the both of them at this point.

"And I'm sorry I didn't make it to the skate park earlier so that I could be there when you fell!"

The dark haired girl's raised arm stopped as Lincoln continued rambling.

"I know I acted stupid, but I couldn't help myself – you were hurt and I just couldn't bear seeing you like that!"

Ronnie Anne continued to glare at the boy in front of her even though her fist slowly went down to her side.

"Please, pummel me all you want, do whatever you like, just… don't say you never want to meet me again! Please…"

Had Lincoln's eyes not been closed, waiting for the first punch, he would have seen Ronnie Anne's expression change from anger to surprise, to confusion and finally to something else – something more kind and caring.

The girl grabbed Lincoln by the collar of his orange polo shirt and lifted him back to his feet. He tensed up, wondering what she had in store for him. A piledriver? A suplex? All he felt though was a slap on the back of the head.

"Don't ever do that again." he heard the girl say and as he opened his eyes he saw her standing in front of him, hands in the pockets of her hoodie as always, mild frown on her face.

"And if you tell anyone about it, I'm gonna send you back to your sisters in a box, got it?"

"Y-yeah. I mean no! I mean yes, I'm not going to… I mean…" Lincoln started stuttering, hardly believing his luck.

"Just forget about it." she said as she started walking along their usual route. "I fell like an amateur trying to do a new move to impress you, you acted like some lame Romeo once you saw a little blood – I guess we're kinda even." Ronnie Anne said, trying her best not to meet Lincoln's eyes as he caught up to her.

"That's what you were doing before I got there?" he asked.

"Yeah, would have been awesome. Sun got in my eyes though. I'll show you next time." she replied with her usual smug smile.

"Next time? So that means you don't want to…." Lincoln was about to ask but Ronnie Anne interrupted him.

"I never said I'd want us to stop meeting." she said, finally turning to him as they walked side by side. "If I gave up on us meeting every time you acted like a dork…" she trailed off, rolling her eyes.

"Look, Ronnie Anne, I'm sorry, I'll never do that again…" Lincoln tried to explain himself once more. "I just saw you like that… I mean not that you were… I couldn't stand there and watch while you were so…" he tried to pick his words carefully, failing to think of a way to not sound like they were in a bad romantic drama. "It just really hurt seeing you…"

"I told you to forget about it!" the girl interrupted, starting to blush, doing her best to look like she was intently focused on walking.

Lincoln had to harness all of his willpower just so that he wouldn't outright stare at Ronnie Anne's freckled cheeks turn crimson at his failed attempt to hide his affection. He could look at her embarrassed frown all day if he wasn't sure that would bring him bruises. He wanted to see her more like this. And he wanted to hear her laugh. And he wanted…

The two continued walking in silence for a while, Lincoln just enjoying the comfort of knowing that they'd keep having their little get-togethers.

"Hey, Lincoln." Ronnie Anne broke the silence, looking around the street they were walking down.

"Yeah?"

"Don't make a big deal out of it."

"Don't make a…" Lincoln was about to ask when he felt something grab his hand.

As he looked down, it took him a moment to realize it was Ronnie Anne's hand holding his as they walked.

"I'm… You're… This is…" Lincoln tried his luck at speaking English again.

"I told you not to make a big deal out of it." she said irritated, though she didn't let go of his hand.

Now it was Lincoln who turned scarlet. Ronnie Anne was holding hands with him! Was his palm too sweaty? Was he holding on too tightly? Too loosely? Her hand was so soft! Did that mean they were… Lincoln was starting to sweat trying to not jump with joy and stand as perfectly still as possible at the same time. Her hand was so warm. He could feel his heart pound a mile a minute.

"You look like you're making a big deal out of it…" Ronnie Anne said, squinting her eyes.

"No! Not at all. I'm just… This is…"

"You're such a dork." she commented with a smile. Lincoln was so cute when he forgot how to speak. She could get used to making him speechless.

 **AN:**

 **I do apologize for there being less Ronnie-Lincoln interaction in these past couple of chapters. I guess it's what Lincoln's life is like - a lot of dealing with family members, no matter what is going on with him. Either that or I'm just beating around the bush.**


	5. Chapter 5

The point where they had to split up came up too soon. The two "just friends" walked there in silence, Lincoln having a sheepish smile on his face while Ronnie Anne tried to force an uninterested expression on hers. With limited success.

The few people who were walking on the other side of the street payed little mind to the two kids walking home from school, much to their relief.

When they reached The Corner That Always Ruins The Best Part Of Going Home From School Because It Comes Up Too Soon And Lincoln Needs To Think Of A Shorter Name For It, they stood for a moment, reluctant to let go of each other's hands.

Ronnie Anne broke the silence: "Hey, Lincoln... We're throwing my cousin a surprise party for her birthday next week. She's new in town and doesn't know a lot of people so my mom asked me if I could invite some of my friends so… You wanna come?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah…" was all that Lincoln managed to answer. Ronnie Anne could have asked him whether he would jump off a bridge and he would probably have agreed right now.

"Awesome, thanks." Ronnie Anne replied with a smile. "Same time, same place on Monday?"

"Yeah…"

"OK, bye then." she said and turned to leave.

"Yeah…" Lincoln repeated absentmindedly.

As Ronnie Anne started walking away her hand slipped out of Lincoln's and he snapped out of his stupor. She turned around just as she was about to go out of view and waved with a smile. Lincoln couldn't help himself but smile back. He was so happy right now. Things had suddenly gotten so much better than he expected. All the way home he thought about how lucky he was. Just an hour ago he was afraid he was not going to be seeing his maybe girlfriend anymore and now he was sure they were closer than ever. Even if she would probably punch him if he ever called her that.

The day Lincoln was having had turned brighter and prettier. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping merrily and the air had the fresh smell of cut grass.

"Nice skipping, Loud!" Mr. Grouse commented as Lincoln came down the sidewalk. The boy didn't even notice the remark and went straight inside his house, leaving his neighbor to continue mowing his lawn, unconcerned. This was hardly the oddest thing for him to see around the house of the Louds. This week.

The rest of the day went by with Lincoln being in the best of moods and it wasn't just because it was the end of the school week. Nothing could ruin his high spirit – not the twins fighting, nor Luan's pranks, nor having to clean up after Charles again. He even made sure to make Lori some coco with marshmallows to let her know she was the best big sister in the world.

The weekend that came after went by as usual. Not that it meant it was uneventful – that was never the case in the Loud house, but Lincoln had something to look forward to on Monday so everything was brighter than usual in his little corner of the world. And when the start of next week did come, all the monotone school lessons were worth it. After classes Ronnie Anne was waiting for him at their spot and they spent the walk home talking about the trip that she had gone on with her parents during the weekend. She then told him about the movie she had watched about an archeologist named Arizona Bones who somehow always got chased by large heavy objects while searching for treasure in old ruins.

"That sounds so cool, Ronnie Anne!" Lincoln said as they stopped at the street corner that Lincoln was now calling the P.O.N.R. or the Point of No Ronnie Anne.

"Yeah." she replied. "And here's the best part – on our drive home yesterday, my dad drove past the old junkyard and I totally saw them bringing in a busted up monster truck. It had huge tires and flames painted on the sides and everything!" the girl said enthusiastically.

"Awesome!" Lincoln replied. "I wish I could have seen it too."

"What if I tell you that you can?" Ronnie Anne asked with a smirk on her face.

"What?"

"I know a way to get in the junkyard – the fence has a part where there's a hole in it we can go through. We can totally go in and check out the truck up close!"

"I don't know, Ronnie Anne, that place is locked up and has "Keep out" signs all over the place…" Lincoln said hesitantly.

"Come on, I've done it a bunch of times." Ronnie Anne said with obvious excitement. "Besides, we'll totally be like Arizona Bones – we'll go into the old ruins of the junkyard to find the lost monster truck of legend!" the girl said enthusiastically.

Lincoln's eyes lit up at the comparison with the adventurer's exploits and he couldn't resist the idea of being just like him.

"OK, I'm in! But we can't have our parents know." he said worriedly.

"Of course not. This isn't my first rodeo, Lincoln." Ronnie Anne said smugly. "Are you ok with going after school tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that'll be great. I'll even get a rope and a grappling hook!" Lincoln said, picturing himself as a daring ruin delver.

"Heh, sure. See you tomorrow then." Ronnie Anne said as she headed home.

Lincoln didn't like hiding where he was going from his parents but he was sure they wouldn't allow him to go. And he wasn't lying – he told them he was going to meet Ronnie Anne, which he was. Besides, daring monster truck archeologists don't need permission to explore ancient junkyards – they do it because they have to!

And sure enough come Tuesday, after school ended, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne headed towards the edge of town where the junkyard was. It laid across from an old parking lot and had a bunch of busted up cars all around its fence, waiting to be hauled in. The two would-be adventurers were hiding behind an old busted up van that had no wheels or doors and was just outside the fence they had to go through.

"There's a guard over at the gate and he does rounds of the junkyard sometimes, but he has this really big key chain that rattles when he walks and you can totally hear him from a mile away." Ronnie Anne explained knowingly. "We can look for the truck all we want, we just have to be quiet and listen for him coming – he'll never find us in all this junk."

And with that experienced advice the kids ran towards the fence and pressed their backs against it in order to make sure their profiles were as small as possible so they wouldn't be seen. Not that there was anyone around to see them.

"Ok, I'm so ready for this." Lincoln said as he put his backpack down and reached into it. "I couldn't find a grappling hook." he said. "But I figured since it's all going to be metal around here, I could get the next best thing."

And with that he pulled out a rope with a bunch of refrigerator magnets crudely glued at one end. He also took out a jungle explorer's hat that was a little too big for him, flung the rope over his shoulder, put the hat on and struck a pose.

"I got it from one of my sister's outfits." he explained as he looked dramatically at the camera.

"That's great…" Ronnie Anne said, trying to contain a chortle. "But let's save the fancy sister get up for when we're inside."

Turning around, Lincoln saw the rusted old "Keep out!" sign that was hung on the fence and right beneath it was a brand new one that read "Beware of dog!".

"Was this always here?" Lincoln asked, starting to have second thoughts.

"Come on, they probably put it there just to scare people away."

"Maybe it's working…" the boy said hesitantly.

"If this dog is anything like its owner, we'll hear it coming from the other side of the junkyard, come on." Ronnie Anne said as she reached for the chain link fence and simply lifted a section of it that wasn't connected to the fence post on its side.

"My brother showed me this when I was little." she said and crawled through. "He thinks I forgot about it and that's fine by me." she explained as she held the fence for Lincoln to go through.

He struggled a bit with going under it because of all the rope on him and the big hat, but he got through and with both of them in, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne took in the junkyard in all of its glory. Cars, household appliances, furniture - it had it all. Piled into mountains of metal, plastic and porcelain, surrounded by forests of smaller pieces of junk, scrap and garbage. It was the next best thing to ancient pyramids and Amazonian jungles.

Ronnie Anne led Lincoln along the paths that surrounded the mounds of scrap, deeper into the junkyard and towards where they thought the fabled monster truck of legend would be – right in the middle of it, because that would be the most epic.

There were all sorts of amazing sights on their journey to the center of the yard – half of a giant plastic dinosaur that had begun to melt, a whole crate full of broken disco balls that shone like jewels, a scrapped fork lift holding up a washing machine full of umbrellas. The two kids hardly contained their excitement, trying to be quiet as they made their way towards the coveted prize. And sure enough as they passed an old excavator that was half buried in broken refrigerators, they saw it at the end of a veritable river of junk – a giant monster truck with its entire front smashed to pieces, resting atop a hill of broken down cars.

The two scrap explorers looked at each other with excitement. Their prize was in sight. But the adventure was just picking up. In order to get to the scrapped temple of coolness, they needed to traverse the final bit of the dump jungle.

They walked through the somewhat treacherous nuts and bolts quicksand, they crossed the field of old mattresses full of semi-dangerous springs bursting out of them and they navigated the almost maze-like forest of piled up tires. After those thrilling almost perils, all that was left was the final push – the possibly cursed mountain of scrapped cars with their goal at the top – the Lost Monster Truck of Awesomeness.

All the while traversing the man-made wilderness, the little explorers were having a whale of a time. All the jumping, crawling and squeezing through the piles of useless wares was exhilarating and was made manyfold more fun by the company that Lincoln and Ronnie Anne shared. They were racing each other, helping the other when needed, and sharing the sights and smells of the scrapheap.

Lincoln was sure he wouldn't be having as much fun if Ronnie Anne wasn't here. He was also sure he wouldn't have the courage to be here in the first place. Heck, he couldn't tell whether he was enjoying the adventure or the company more. Even though they had to keep as quiet as possible and conversing was at a minimum, the boy felt elated to be interacting with Ronnie Anne so much - this was the afternoon the two were due to share the week prior. And by the looks of it Ronnie Anne was having fun herself - she was in her element trudging through all the obstacles the recycled labyrinth was throwing at them. And as Lincoln was happy to notice, she seemed like she was enjoying him being here with her as well. No words were needed for them to share this grand adventure and they let themselves be absorbed in it.

Lincoln was also amazed by how much the dark haired girl beamed in these circumstances - all the grit on her and the motor oil she had managed to smear on her face when she wiped her brow only managed to make her look even more awesome than usual. Lincoln had a hard enough time trying not to think of whether she still hurt from the fall last week, now he had to make sure he wasn't drooling over her rugged new looks. Both being in Ronnie Anne's company and not getting distracted was proving difficult.

Now as they finally stood at the foot of the scrap car mountain, breathing heavily and covered in dust, they stopped to catch their breath, tired and excited. The shadow of the junkyard's magnetic crane in the distance was giving them a welcome reprieve from the sun and a light wind, carrying the smell of rubber and motor oil, was ruffling their hair. A moment worthy of an adventurer's tale.

As Ronnie Anne turned towards Lincoln after the brief moment of scrappy serenity, he had to quickly plaster a casual look on his face to hide the fact that he was enjoying looking at his partner in crime even more than the scenery.

"Awesome sight, huh?" Ronnie Anne asked excitedly.

"Yeah..." Lincoln trailed off. "Sight's nice too... I mean… Yeah!" he caught himself. "The sight. Awesome. Heh."

Ronnie Anne raised an eyebrow at his odd distraction, but Lincoln was quick to try and recover: "We should be as stealthy as possible though." he said, moving behind an old engine block.

"Right." she agreed in a hushed tone as she looked around, ready to fight any dump monster that'd show up. None such beasts present, Ronnie Anne turned and looked up.

"If we're lucky..." the girl whispered. "We'll find something like the driver's busted up helmet in there and take it like an artifact!"

As Lincoln looked up, the automobile heap was looking higher than he thought. He swallowed hard and braced himself – even if it was intimidating, this is what archeologists were meant to do! Or so Lincoln guessed.

Ronnie Anne led the way as they started ascending the pyramid of forsaken vehicles and Lincoln was trying to stay close behind. At first the going was easy – the bottom of the automotive hill was littered with junk of every variety filling and covering the cars. The two had an easy time grabbing hold to the coat racks, lamp posts and even parts of other cars protruding from all the broken vehicles. But as they ascended further, the wrecks they had to climb were starting to get newer – piled on more recently. They hardly had any easy grabbing points except for slick bumpers and rear view mirrors that had all gotten hot from the afternoon sun. Now Lincoln and Ronnie Anne's newfound archeological prowess was being truly tested. The pace slowed and the dangers became harder to avoid because of the mounting fatigue. Even so, their goal was tantalizingly close.

Lincoln was trying not to lag behind Ronnie Anne when his exhaustion caught up to him: as he was reaching for the next place to hold on to on the sedan he was climbing, the sun got reflected in its intact windscreen, right into the boy's eyes. Not seeing where he was going, he tried to grab anything for support but slipped on the shiny bonnet of the car and was it not for Ronnie Anne's hand grabbing his arm, he would have surely tumbled down.

"Watch it, Lincoln." she said, pulling him up onto a relatively flat part of the scrap ridge where a few cars' hoods met. "I don't think you have enough bandages for that kinda fall." she added with a smirk.

Lincoln wasn't that confident in their endeavor any more. Visibly shaking he took a look down all the way to the bottom where he might have found himself a moment ago and swallowed hard. Looking back at Ronnie Anne he said with a meek voice: "Maybe we should... call it a day and come back another time…" Lincoln was obviously starting to doubt himself.

The girl looked her partner in crime in the eye and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Lincoln! This is exactly what we came for! Action and adventure! We're almost there." she said as she looked up. "I know we can do this." she continued looking back at Lincoln. "Together." she added confidently and her eyes shone with determination.

A gust blowing at that exact moment made her ponytail wave in the wind and with the shine of the mid-afternoon sun reflected behind her, Lincoln couldn't help but get awestruck by her confidence.

Seeing that his courage was returning Ronnie Anne added: "Besides, Indiana Bones had all of his fancy tools and stuff. We're on our own and we're doin' just fine."

"Wait!" Lincoln remembered. "We don't have to be!" And as he said that he reached over his shoulder and got the rope he had put on his back. Ronnie Anne looked at the mess of an improvised grappling hook with suspicion but decided to see what Lincoln had in mind.

He turned towards the top. Ronnie Anne was right – they were almost there. And the climb didn't have to be so hard. "Time to get to the temple of monster-truckness in style." he said with confidence as he swung the heavy end of his contraption nonchalantly. The "hook" slipped out of his grip, flew up and the magnets it was comprised of stuck right in the middle of the door of the monster truck with the luck only such an unintentional throw could have.

The fortune of the hook hitting its mark came at a price though – the magnets attached to the metal door with a clang that sounded way louder than the two adventurers would like, the tall piles of junk reflecting the sound. As the silence that followed the echo settled in, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne looked at each other.

"Um… do you think the guard heard that?" the boy asked, the worried look back on his face.

"That sounded like any old piece of junk being blown over by the wind." Ronnie Anne replied, not wanting for Lincoln to give up now. They were so close. "Let's see if this works." she said, grabbing the rope now hanging from the side of their goal right above them. "We'll be there in no time, we'll check the truck out and we'll take the helmet." she tried enticing the white haired boy as she started climbing.

Lincoln didn't look so sure but he also grabbed the rope, focusing on what awaited them just a little bit further up.

But as the two started climbing towards the coveted prize, things got worse quick. Ronnie Anne slipped a few inches down the rope because of the sweat on her hands, the monster truck above them creaking threateningly.

"Um…" Lincoln started voicing his concern.

"It's fine. We're practically there." Ronnie Anne replied and pushed on.

Then a rear view mirror Lincoln was stepping on broke off and flew down the junk mound with a series of loud noises. The boy hung onto the rope by his hands for a few moments, feet flailing in the air, before he got his footing back and something above them shifted alarmingly.

"Ronnie Anne…" came from below the girl.

"We're good, we just need to…" she began and then a bumper she had put her weight on also gave way and fell into the metal jungle below, narrowly missing Lincoln and making even more noise. And as the rope became taut again, the car door it was attached to creaked alarmingly, the whole monster truck moving slightly. Up this close it looked like the crash it had gone through had done a real number on it.

"I really think we need to get down, Ronnie Anne!"

"If we can just…" the girl was about to say, looking at the red flames of the truck just above her, but she stopped as barking could be heard in the distance of the junkyard.

"A dog!?" Lincoln exclaimed, still on the rope. "I knew there was a guard dog. Ronnie Anne we really need to leave."

The brave adventurer on the rope above Lincoln was starting to become less confident in their success even though she tried to reassure herself saying "It's just a dog, we can…" but Lincoln continued expressing his unrest: "Do you know how many rabies shots they give you if you get bitten? Four! That's four needles! I don't want to be a bad archeologist, Ronnie Anne, but it's getting a little scary." he said shakily as a new metallic sound came from above them.

Any decision Ronnie Anne was going to make in light of the new circumstances was made for her as the clump of refrigerator magnets that was the grappling hook finally gave up and became unattached from the truck door. The two kids flew the few feet down to the little landing they had rested on a few moments ago and the "hook" came crashing onto Lincoln with a thud. And with that much of a commotion the whole top of the metal mountain began to rumble.

Dazed from the fall and the hit, Lincoln felt a hand grab his and heard Ronnie Anne say "Ok, let's get out of here!" as the whole pile of cars around them began shaking. It felt like the pile of scrap they were on was beginning to fall apart. The adventuring duo started descending as quickly as they could, climbing down at first and jumping afterwards as they got low enough and the automobile mound became less steep again. They leapt from car roof to car roof as junk was starting to fall around them with a sound that they thought meant the whole junkyard was collapsing on top of them. And parts of it were indeed dropping - an exhaust landed behind them, a glass window shattered to the left of them and a whole car door embedded itself into the ground to the right. They could hear other debris falling behind them as they finally reached the base of the scrap peak they were descending. The barking of the dog that was getting louder and louder was accompanying the sound of the scrap heaving and creaking behind them. It felt like a pandemonium of metal rain and wild beasts.

The massive pile of long dead cars was too jumbled and rusted into itself to topple though and the only substantial object that detached itself from it was the giant tire of the desired monster truck that finally came off the smashed front end of the vehicle. It came tumbling down, producing a menacing crash each time it bounced off the metal slope, heading down toward the two fleeing children. They had just reached the flat floor of the junkyard when the wheel caught up to them.

Bouncing high from the last smash into the hill behind them, the giant piece of rubber and metal crashed inches in front of Lincoln and Ronnie Anne, leaving a crater in the ground and smashing the loose pieces of junk in its path. The two froze in their tracks, their noses almost touching the half ton wheel in front of them before it bounced once more and rolled on its way. The kids stood there for a few moments, trying to process what almost happened to them as the sound of falling junk around them was dying out and the sound of a barking dog was getting louder, echoing all around them.

Ronnie Anne recovered from her shock first and she pulled the still petrified Lincoln along towards the edge of the junkyard. They ran without looking back, going through all the obstacles they had encountered earlier, except this time they weren't fun and exciting. With the sound of the animal behind and the occasional clank of metal hitting metal around them they ran towards salvation. Faltering and falling, they brushed against the jagged piles of junk besides them and they waded through the smaller pieces of scrap as they ran. All that was on their mind was the opening in the fence. And after what felt like a small eternity, they found themselves at the same place they had entered the yard earlier that day.

Ronnie Anne went through the hole and crouched on the other side to hold the piece of chain link fence up long enough for Lincoln to slide under. As he got to the other side, he felt something fall off of his head and looked behind him. Still on the ground, he reached back with one hand and grabbed his fallen hat, pulling it under the fence right as it fell back into place with a metallic rattle. After that both kids got up and ran to the nearest place they could hide – the same busted up van they were at a couple of hours ago. On the inside of the fence the dog pursuing them finally stopped barking, the echoes dying out one by one. Happy with its duty being fulfilled, it headed back into the yard.

In the shadow of the vehicle Ronnie Anne and Lincoln finally stopped, hearts racing, ears ringing, every breath – a flame burning in their lungs. As they took in the silence that had finally engulfed them, staring blankly into the rusted walls of the vehicle, they noticed they were holding hands. They had done so throughout the whole flight here. Supporting each other, dragging one another to their feet when they fell and pulling the other when they lagged behind. Neither of them let go even now, in the relative safety of the old van's cover. They were holding so tightly they didn't know whether they could let go, even if they wanted to.

Ronnie Anne was again the first to come to her senses. She thought of cracking a funny quip to lessen the tension and get her mind off of what they just went through. Turning to Lincoln, she tried to force a smile on her face but what she saw was him standing beside her, trembling, tears welled up in his eyes. Ronnie Anne's smile faded as what could have just happened to them sank in. She wasn't in the mood for jokes anymore. Was she also trembling? Before the girl could try and say anything, Lincoln reached towards her and wrapped his arms around her. Not realizing their legs were barely keeping them upright, they both dropped to their knees on the cold ground. Taken aback and somehow relieved at the same time, Ronnie Anne stood motionless for a moment. Then she finally returned the embrace, one hand still clutching Lincoln's.

There they stood in each other's arms for a while, waiting for the other to stop shivering. Neither felt the need to move nor speak. The presence of the other being all they needed.

AN:

I need to apologize to those few who waited for this to get published. It took quite a while for it to materialize and then even more time for me to be happy with how it turned out. Hopefully the length of the chapter somewhat makes up for the egregious delay. I don't think I'll be able to make one as long as this again… But as long as I can avoid vexing cliffhangers…

Once more, every kind of feedback is welcome and constructive.


	6. Chapter 6

After a while they both stopped shaking and gently pulled away from one another, still on the hard ground.

"Were we…" Lincoln tried speaking, but he felt like he wouldn't be able to continue, the lump in his throat cutting the question off. Ronnie Anne didn't ask what he was about to say. They both needed a little more time. She had her back against the van's wall and Lincoln sat next to her, arms around his knees. The silence was in stark contrast to the cacophony they had just experienced. The only disturbances were the occasional tear being wiped from an eye and a sniff coming from one child or the other.

"Ronnie Anne…" Lincoln half said, half whispered after a while.

"Yeah."

"Thanks for… um… Back there you…" He didn't know whether he wanted to continue his sentence. Somehow he felt that if he didn't acknowledge what had almost just happened, it would make it less real.

"Yeah, uh… no problem. I wouldn't want you to… Uh…" Ronnie Anne didn't finish neither.

"You scraped your arm." she pointed out after another solemn pause.

Lincoln looked at it absentmindedly. There were a couple of red scratches across his left forearm, no doubt left there by some piece of metal.

"Oh, yeah."

The long, red marks looked like something sharp had left them, though they weren't bleeding. After looking at them distractedly, Lincoln turned to Ronnie Anne, a thought coming to mind.

"Are you… Do you have any cuts?"

The question took a few seconds to process, after which Ronnie Anne also inspected her arms and legs, just now thinking of looking at them. There were only a few scrapes on her palms. No doubt from grabbing onto the junk when the two of them were going through the dump, climbing the hill or running for their…

Ronnie Anne swallowed hard.

"Nothing bad." she said, trying to avert her thoughts.

"That's… good."

Having nothing to say and the silent darkness of their haven doing little to ease the two's minds, they stood up one after the other.

Lincoln didn't know what he was supposed to do. Him and Ronnie Anne had nothing to share with each other on the experience but ignoring what had just happened seemed impossible. Were they supposed to just move on? How was he supposed to comfort her if he was as distraught as her, or even more so.

Lincoln's emotions hadn't yet caught up, aside from the fear that had settled in after the fact. His thoughts insisted on going back to the moment where they had thought they were finally safe, only to be reminded of the gravity of the situation. And the power of gravity. Specifically affecting a monstrous four-hundred-pound tire. But Lincoln didn't want to dwell on that - he didn't want to let his imagination go into what could have happened had they been a bit faster in their escape. He shuddered despite the warm afternoon air.

The boy and the girl came out of their little shelter in silence and looked around. Nothing had changed in the scenery. The world hadn't noticed them entering the dump and it didn't notice them leave. The thought that it also wouldn't notice if they... didn't come out, was a strange one.

The mood during the silent walk home was nothing like the one on the way to the junkyard. Excitement was replaced with confusion, the sense of adventure with the weight of realty.

Both kids were walking with their heads down, eyes fixed on the pavement in front of them. They let their feet lead them on their way along the familiar streets.

There were plenty of people walking around in the late afternoon and some noticed a couple of children covered in dust walking home, but that wasn't out of the ordinary - what was strange was that the dirtier kids were, the happier they usually looked, the grit only serving to indicate how much fun they had had. These two though seemed absorbed in thought.

Lately a lot of walks home were devoted to thoroughly thinking over the day's events, Lincoln noticed. Again he found himself trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Was he not careful enough? He should have probably seen things coming. He couldn't have tried and taken charge though. Not after last time... But today he didn't force his way and they almost... A shudder went down the boy's spine.

Lincoln was having trouble figuring out what was right or wrong right now but his thoughts were cut short - they were already at his house. He hadn't noticed when they got to it - Ronnie Anne hadn't spoken on their way neither, also lost in thought.

They stood silently in the driveway for a few moments.

Lincoln wondered if he was supposed to walk Ronnie Anne the spot they usually split up. Then again he doubted he would be able to think of something to say on the way there.

"I guess we're going home." he said, the lack of conversation topics being apparent.

"Yeah." Ronnie Anne said, looking around, realizing they had gotten here without her noticing.

"You should put something on that." she said, pointing to Lincoln's arm.

Looking at it again the young Loud started getting pulled back into reality. Going home visibly hurt was a recipe for disaster.

"Oh, man, my sisters are going to have a field day. And my mom's gonna ask where I got this…" he thought out loud.

"Will she? Does it… hurt a lot?" Ronnie Anne asked hesitantly.

"My mom always wants to know how we got hurt, even if it wasn't that bad, in case me and my sisters were fighting again. Plus, she's a nurse… sort of." the boy explained.

"Lincoln, we can't tell our parents where we were. They'll ground us for life!" Ronnie Anne protested, pausing for a moment to try and think of something.

"Here's what's gonna happen: there's and abandoned camper at the trailer park down the street from where I live. Tell your folks we went to check it out and that's how you got the cuts."

"Hmm…" Lincoln hesitated. "Lying never turns out well for me, Ronnie Anne. And I already kinda lied to my parents about today. I can't do it again so that…" Lincoln was about to explain but he had a thought cross his mind. If he told his parents where he really was today and that it was Ronnie Anne's idea, they might not only ground him until he was eighteen, but also forbid him from seeing her. He couldn't risk that. Not after all he had to go through to make sure they could meet each other.

"You know what, that… that's a good idea. I'll tell them that."

"Great. That's gonna be my story too. That way even if your folks call mine, it'll all check out." Ronnie Anne said, glad they had their bases covered.

"Good thinking…" Lincoln noted unexcitedly, followed by more silence. He didn't know how to strike a conversation about what happened today. And he didn't even know if he should. But he was certain he didn't much feel like it. So he instead decided on the tried and tested method of ignoring the subject and tried to think of a way to end the awkward silence. Saying it was fun and that they had to do this again some time somehow didn't feel appropriate.

Was he supposed to try and comfort Ronnie Anne? Would that be too patronizing again? She didn't mind them holding each other in the van earlier…

"So… bye I guess." the boy finally said awkwardly.

"Yeah, bye." Ronnie Anne replied as the gloomy mood persisted.

Lincoln watched as his junkyard delving partner started her walk home. He wondered if she felt as confused as he did.

When Ronnie Anne got out of view, Lincoln turned towards his house and was again reminded of the world he was returning to. The dump exploration they had gone through wasn't done with the problems it was to cause. Now he had to deal with the family situation too. He had the presence of mind to make sure the rope and explorer's hat were well hidden in his backpack.

"Sometimes in the Loud house you just can't avoid a problem." Lincoln said as he turned to the camera. "Someone is going to notice I cut my arm and they are going to freak out. That's why I have a plan for such occasions I like to call "Picking your poison". Or in this case – your sister. If I'm lucky enough I'll be able to pick who is going to be getting worried and overreacting, before I can reach the relative safety of my room."

And with that Lincoln headed to the back of the house and the door there. He figured he had a better chance of avoiding sisters if he didn't go through the front. Sighing and taking a moment to steel himself, he reached for the door knob and went inside.

Fortune didn't seem to be on his side though as the kitchen already had two potential meddlers in it.

"Then you put the peanut butter in and we're ready to mix it all up. And don't forget to put the lid on – cleaning's gonna be easier later." Leni was just telling Lynn who was standing next to her in front of the kitchen counter.

"Wait!" the blond girl exclaimed. "I need to get my phone. We've got to make a smoothie selfie." she added excitedly as she bolted out of the room.

Lynn looked on with a smile at her big sister leaving the kitchen as she noticed Lincoln coming in.

"Oh, hey Linc, what's up."

"Hi Lynn, uh… what're you two doing?" the boy tried to direct attention away from himself.

"I'm off to practice in a bit and Leni was just showing me how to make a protein shake. Or a muscle smoothie." Lynn added, making air quotes and smiling at her sister's antics. "I was just gonna grab a granola bar, but she seemed really excited about it. Hey, what happened to your arm?" she asked, her expression changing to that of concern.

Lincoln was hoping he could get past Lynn without her noticing but he guessed it could have been worse when it came to a sister seeing it first. Though it was unfortunate that the moment he got inside he was set upon by siblings – he usually at least had a chance to sneak around unnoticed.

"Oh, this? It's nothing, I just scraped my arm on something."

"Are you ok? We've got to do something about that. I'm gonna get the others." Lynn said as she turned to exit the kitchen.

"No, no, wait!" Lincoln waved his hands in front of him to try and catch his sister's attention. "Can't you just give me some band aids or something? I don't want you to, uh… be late for practice."

"Sure, I guess." the girl said, stepping away from the door frame. "I'm leading the attack today. They won't know what hit them." she said with a proud smile as she reached into the duffle bag that was on the floor next to her and started rummaging through all the sports gear inside.

"Hey, didn't I give you some disinfectant and stuff?" Lynn asked as she turned to her brother and tossed him a whole box of bandages.

"Oh yeah…" Lincoln exclaimed genuinely as he caught the band aids. It hadn't crossed his mind to use what he got in his pack with all the commotion he was through. Though he would have probably drawn even more attention to himself if he had come home all bandaged up.

"I'm gonna want the rest of those back. And I still think Lori should check that out before mom comes home." Lynn said looking at his arm. Luckily for Lincoln right at that time Leni came back with her phone in hand.

"Ok, I'm totally ready." she said as she lined up a selfie with her sister and the blender full of ingredients in the shot. "Oh, hey Linky, want to pose with us for our selfie?"

"Uh, no thanks, Leni, you seem to have everything under control." the boy said with a nervous smile. He tried to hold his damaged arm behind his back and look natural. It would be really bad if Leni noticed it - she was one of his sisters that would be the most worried at the sight of an injury.

"Hey Lynn, you could use a little powder. I can let you borrow mine." his bigger sister said, focusing her attention elsewhere.

"Yeah, not gonna happen." Lincoln heard Lynn answer as he was leaving the kitchen, taking advantage of his two siblings getting back to their selfie taking. This was more luck than Lincoln had thought he would get. Though now he had to go through the living room undetected and that was usually not easy.

This time it was the twins on the couch in front of the TV and they were obviously fighting again. Threats, insults and general shouting was heard from the scuffle. Luan was there as well, filming the two with her camera, either for more comedic material or to just document their sisterly love. Lincoln used their preoccupation to try and go up the stairs unnoticed and even though Lana saw him, her distraction only served to give Lola the advantage as she swiped the remote from her sister's hand. Lincoln would usually try and stop their fighting but with Luan present things were ought not to escalate too much – she'd stop them before the biting started.

Getting to the second floor hallway, the final stretch was in Lincoln's sight. Now if he could just go unnoticed past the other…

"Sixth eldest sibling." he heard just as he was reaching for his door, making him stop in his tracks.

"I was going to inquire for a sufficient explanation in regards to the ruckus, but it seems there is a more pressing situation requiring my assistance." Lisa said as she pushed her glasses up her nose, lisp audible with every other word she spoke. Lincoln's diminutive sibling was standing at the door of her and Lili's room.

"So much for picking my poison." he said to himself as he turned to his bespectacled sister.

"Oh, hey Lisa." he greeted with a fake smile. "What, this? It's nothing, just a scratch." he tried to explain, looking at the arm Lisa had noticed being hurt.

"Nonsense. All lacerations need to be examined and treated accordingly in order to prevent further complications." Lisa replied, not relenting in her albeit reserved concern.

"Yeah, I was just about to uh… treat it – I got band aids and everything." Lincoln showed her the box he was carrying.

"That is hardly sufficient to…"

"Hey, how about Lola and Lana." Lincoln interrupted his sister as a crash could be heard from below, no doubt furniture starting to take the brunt of the fight.

"They're at it again downstairs. I've got the whole scraped arm situation covered, but I bet some…" Lincoln paused trying to remember the word. "Behavioristical research is in order with the twins." he finished, hoping to distract this sister as well.

"I have been toying with the idea of disproving Darwin with examples of our family's primitive ways…" Lisa said as she rubbed her chin in contemplation.

"Yeah… you do that." Lincoln said as he slowly backed away until he could feel his back press against the door to his room.

He caught the knob without turning around and rather than entering, more so fell into his room. Finally reaching the shelter that was his little part of the house, Lincoln leaned against the door he closed behind himself and let out a sigh of relief. Sliding down, he sat on the floor and let the thin walls of his room muffle the sounds of all the other Louds.

Free of their attention, Lincoln could finally be alone with his thoughts. This time he couldn't just try and distract himself from them. He had to figure out what had gone wrong today.

Everything had started so well. Both him and Ronnie Anne were so excited earlier today. They wanted to be just like the characters in the movies - going on daring escapades and epic adventures. Lincoln guessed they tried to have all the good without the bad. It wasn't all fame and fortune - there were apparently always big heavy objects chasing you.

He should have been able to see things coming – there were signs everywhere, literally. It was obvious that there was going to be a guard dog but he ignored that. And the junkyard in general was sure to be a dangerous place. There were all sorts of sharp and heavy objects. He should have seen things coming...

Lincoln looked at his left arm. The cuts actually hurt when he touched them. That reminded him of the box of bandages he got from Lynn. He grabbed it and opened the plastic lid but doing so made his fingers hurt and he looked at his hands. They were red all over and chafed in places. Climbing all over the coarse pieces of scrap must have gotten them hurt as well. This prompted Lincoln to stand up and turn to his mirror. Was there more he hadn't noticed?

The reflection looking back at him seemed to be the usual, a little dirt and a worried look being the only things out of the ordinary. Lincoln then took off his shirt and saw that he did in fact have a few bruises and chafes here and there from the times he had tripped and brushed against the piles of junk. He was probably going to feel those in the morning.

He reached down for the discarded bandages. Was his knee also hurting?

Lincoln sat down on his bed, the worried frown remaining on his face.

Getting a few scrapes and bruises wasn't anything new, he was prone to getting himself hurt either tumbling or tripping on things. Playing with Lynn or Lana wasn't exactly safe either. This time was different though. These wounds not only stung, they also reminded him of what could have happened today. Lincoln unwittingly touched his nose.

Even while trying to avoid the idea of how things could have turned out, the fear and worry today's events warranted had settled in. He averted his thoughts no longer. What if they had run a little faster? Would they be standing in the crater that was left mere inches in front of them? What if they were slow enough for the enormous, crushing tire to catch up with them while they were on the pile of cars. They could have fallen off at any point while climbing up or down the mountain of vehicles. And what if it had all crumbled on top of them like they though it would? Lincoln shuddered at the thought of cars raining down around him. Minor cuts and chafes would be the least of his problems. The image of broken bones and... worse came to mind. A vivid imagination wasn't something he thought he would regret having.

Lincoln realized he was covered in cold sweat.

He pealed the plastic off of the first band aid he got out of the box and it reminded him of the last time he bandaged someone. That someone was Ronnie Anne and that steered his thoughts in a new direction.

He wasn't alone at the scrap heap today - she was there as well and she was probably also home right now hurting all over. Had Lincoln not been so careless she wouldn't have to go through that. He should have been more cautious – he could have called the whole thing off when he saw the signs on the fence of the yard. He could have just swallowed his pride and told Ronnie Anne that they should leave when he saw how tall the pile of scrap they were climbing was. And seeing how exhausted they both were, he should have known something would go wrong. But he constantly reminded himself how close their goal was instead.

Lincoln remembered all the sharp and jagged things they went through as he put the bandage on the cut on his arm. At the time they all looked fitting for an adventure in a forest of junk. Now he could only think of what they could have done to Ronnie Anne. She probably lied to Lincoln when she told him she was ok after they got out. How could he have been so stupid?

Lincoln applied another band aid to his arm and couldn't stop thinking of what could have happened. They had faltered and tripped so much on their way out. What if Ronnie Anne had fallen and hit herself like she did at the skate park. Her meeting Lincoln served to only put her in danger. It now seemed like a miracle that she got off so easy considering how clumsy and careless he was. It was a good thing Ronnie Anne was as tough as she was. She was even the one to actually get a hold of herself and pull Lincoln away from all that danger - it was her who had to get them out of the whole mess.

Lincoln pressed the third bandage onto his arm so hard it hurt. He was really angry at himself. He put Ronnie Anne in danger and she actually managed to save him despite him being so thoughtless. All because he couldn't get over himself and tell her that he was scared. All because he didn't want to be as pushy as that time at the skate park. He put his relationship with Ronnie Anne above her well-being, Lincoln realized. The bandages he was holding were getting crumpled in the fist he was clenching. Ronnie Anne could have gotten hurt because of him. She could have gotten blood all over her again. She could have…

Lincoln spared himself the truth no longer. Ronnie Anne could have died today.

The thought felt both foreign and terrifying. That was something that only happened in the movies his parents didn't want him to see and in the late night news. It couldn't happen to someone Lincoln knew. It couldn't happen by just going out to meet a friend.

Or so he had thought before. Now his imagination was filled with news articles speaking of a kid who died in an accident while trespassing in a junkyard, obituaries with pictures of a dark haired girl, people in black gathered around a coffin.

Something hot rolled down Lincoln's cheek.

The door to his room suddenly opened and Luna peered inside. Lincoln hadn't even noticed her coming down the corridor.

"Hey, Linc, heard you were home and… Judas Priest!" the girl exclaimed as she saw her brother. Her heart sank at the sight of a white haired boy sitting on his bed, shirt off, covered in bruises and chafes. Lincoln had turned his head at the sudden intrusion, surprise and worry on his tear covered face. The bandages he was clutching and had used to clumsily cover the cuts on his arm only made the whole picture even more heart-wrenching for the music loving Loud.

"Lincoln, what happened?" Luna almost shouted as she barged into his room.

His mind still preoccupied with visions of grave injuries, the boy had trouble even processing the question.

Her expression was one of worry and confusion as Luna got to her brother and got a hold of his arm and looked at all the traces of the dump adventure he had on his body.

"What… How did you get this messed up? Are you OK, Lincoln?"

"I, uh… It's…" he tried to say something as he concentrated on the present once more. He had to go into damage control. A sister freaking out over him usually led to a chain reaction. And it was Luna to boot – Lincoln didn't think he was going to be able to distract her or convince her he was fine like with the others.

He was just about to accept his sistery fate when fortune smiled on him, in a way. His mom got home right as the sisterpocalypse was about to begin. That didn't mean that he was out of trouble but at least he could start all the explaining from the top of the familial hierarchy.

The evening was spent with his mother, his cuts and bruises being properly cleaned. Lincoln also had to do some explaining so Ronnie Anne's cover story came into play. He really didn't want to keep lying to his family, that never led to anything good for him in the past, but he just couldn't tell them what really happened. So rusty old campers, abandoned in trailer parks were blamed and there was no mention of junkyard mountains. Even if some part of him really wanted to hear the comforting words his family would surely offer if he told them how distressed he really was. But he couldn't risk it this time. Lincoln would have to deal with what happened today without them. Him and Ronnie Anne had to figure this one out.

That would surely not happen tomorrow though. Lincoln's mom didn't like what he told her even if it was a tamer version of what had really happened. She was disappointed that he had supposedly decided to play in such an unsafe place and she was also not happy with him obviously being irresponsible for bringing Ronnie Anne as well.

"You should have known better, Lincoln." Rita said. "You need to be more careful".

Those words did little to ease Lincoln's sense of guilt and self-doubt and he did a poor job hiding it. His mom decided that he needed to be punished for being reckless, not telling her or his father where he was really going and for hiding he got hurt from his sisters. Though the weeks worth of punishment that Lincoln had thought he would get turned out to be just a couple of days of being grounded and having revoked video game privileges - his mother thought that him being obviously sorry alleviated his culpability. That and the fact that he was getting a trip to the doctor's office first thing after school tomorrow to get a vaccination. Turns out that even if you avoid getting bitten by guard dogs you still get to have a tetanus shot for being cut by potentially rusty metal.

All this meant that Lincoln wouldn't be able to meet Ronnie Anne until Friday. He didn't know how to feel about that. He wanted to talk to her, he wanted to see if she was really OK, to apologize. On the other hand, he still didn't know how to do that. Why was having a secret maybe girlfriends so confusing?

The next day came and life went on as usual – the first half of the day came and went as expected. The morning was frantic and school was nothing exciting. Lincoln did talk with his best bud Clyde but he didn't feel like lying to him as well so all he told him was that he got hurt while out with Ronnie Anne and that he got grounded for it. Clyde was as supportive as ever, offering Lincoln to let him borrow one of his favorite book series – "Safety at home and outside" in six volumes. And even though Lincoln appreciated the gesture, he didn't think he'd be able to stomach that.

The second half of the day began with his mother picking him up from school and driving him to the clinic. Getting needles stuck in him was one of Lincoln's least favorite things but he accepted it as just punishment for his stupid escapades and for lying to his family.

After being dropped off at home Lincoln went on with a semi-normal day. Him being grounded wasn't that out of the ordinary and he had ways to deal with it. He did his homework and tried not to think of the new video game he had gotten recently so that time would pass easier.

The difference this time being that his sisters made sure to see whether he was hiding any new injuries. Luna and Leni made sure to double check on him to even see if he was changing his bandages and if he was healing properly. They were notedly more upset than the others because of not noticing Lincoln being hurt yesterday. After multiple assurances that he was fine, they left him relatively alone. All in all he didn't have that many aches, his hands hurting a bit.

"Good thing I won't be holding a joystick any time soon." Lincoln thought sarcastically.

Physical troubles weren't what was worrying him. Throughout the day the memory of what had happened at the scrap heap kept surfacing when he found himself doing nothing in particular. And now that evening was once more closing in, he again turned his thoughts back to yesterday's events and what they entailed.

Lincoln had yet to contact Ronnie Anne – he had to go straight home from school with him being grounded and all and he didn't have the courage to call her. He figured he could meet her on Friday. Then he'd be able to talk to her, to say he is sorry, to tell her that he wouldn't be so reckless again. Ronnie Anne seemed fine when she went home yesterday but Lincoln was sure she also got scared, that she… knew they almost got killed.

The idea returning to his mind made Lincoln shiver once more. How did one talk about that? What could he say to her? That he didn't let her get exposed to mortal danger on purpose? Or that he would be more careful next time he decides to do incredibly stupid things? Lincoln wasn't sure he even wanted to pick up the topic. But he knew that if the two of them were to continue meeting, he had to address it. They had to at least both agree that they would never do that again.

Yeah, that was it. He'd apologize, assure Ronnie Anne he was never going to be as dumb as he was and then leave the topic of… death behind for good.

Lincoln swallowed hard. He was getting angry at himself again. Did he even deserve to try and make things right with Ronnie Anne? He wanted to see her more, to talk to her, to be… close to her. But things seemed to get complicated a lot lately. All of these thoughts made Lincoln more depressed than he usually got on days he was grounded.

At least for some reason his sisters didn't bother him as much during the two days he was serving his sentence, medical check-ups not included. That usually meant that they were either very busy or that they were plotting something without him. Or against him. Lincoln didn't feel like trying to find out what they were up to though – the lack of attention was a welcome reprieve.

And on the second day the question of whether he was to meet Ronnie Anne was answered – she texted him that she wanted to talk in person.

Lincoln took that with mixed feelings – it meant that she still wanted to meet but at the same time he knew what the conversation topic was going to be. He had to try and make things right though, despite him feeling like he should probably stay away from her – things seemed to only get dangerous with him around her. Embarrassing too – Lincoln could add an unexpected embrace in a rusty van to the unexpected kiss in a crowded restaurant in his collection of awkward situations he put Ronnie Anne through. Though he couldn't help himself but recall them with a strange fondness in addition to the embarrassment.

Lincoln texted her back, saying he was grounded till Friday and they agreed to meet after school and talk on their way home as usual. He couldn't discern the girl's mood through the text messages. For the better perhaps.

As Friday came and school ended Lincoln didn't tell Clyde where he was going – he didn't want to have to explain why he needed to see Ronnie Anne so urgently. His pal wasn't oblivious enough not to notice when his best friend was nervous though and wished him luck anyway, much to Lincoln's appreciation.

When he got to the shady back of the school building that no one but them seemed to go to, Lincoln saw Ronnie Anne waiting for him. She was facing away with her hands in her pockets, seemingly lost in thought. The serious expression Lincoln saw on her face as she turned to meet him was not particularly reassuring. She at least seemed physically OK.

Lincoln steeled himself and as he got to Ronnie Anne he tried to suppress his urge to avoid the obvious topic and just strike a conversation about comic books or something. He took a deep breath before he started speaking.

"That was kinda stupid back there in the junkyard, huh?"

Ronnie Anne nodded in agreement, her eyes drifting towards the ground.

"It was fun at first. I really liked exploring with you." he continued.

Ronnie Anne smiled faintly and was about to say something but Lincoln decided to speak his mind to the fullest.

"I really messed up, Ronnie Anne." he said in a sad voice. "I should have called everything off when I saw how bad things were getting."

Ronnie Anne was visibly confused as Lincoln kept talking.

"We almost got caught and there was a dog, and junk was flying everywhere. It was all my fault."

"Lincoln, what are you…" Ronnie Anne tried interrupting him.

"I saw how dangerous things were, but I didn't try to tell you we had to leave like I should have. And things got worse…" he continued. "I got carried away in the adventure…"

"Lincoln…"

"And it was all because I didn't want you to think I was too pushy this time. I was so stupid." Lincoln continued, getting more lost in his thoughts.

"Lincoln." Ronnie Anne tried to stop him once more, getting obviously annoyed.

"Things could have gotten so bad. And even though I got us into all that, you were the one to get us out. We could have gotten caught, we could have gotten hurt…" Lincoln let his thoughts get voiced as they came to mind, going through everything that he had thought the last couple of days.

"Lincoln!" the girl in front of him tried to make him shut up. He was babbling and this time it wasn't the fun kind of rambling where he was struggling with speaking, he was just spewing nonsense. Wasn't his first time either.

"Ronnie Anne, you could have gotten hit by some of that stuff! I wasn't with you at the skate park, but this time even though I was there I still couldn't keep you out of danger!" Lincoln was starting to get angry with himself again. "And there was the giant tire that came down. It was so close, Ronnie Anne! It could have… It could have hit us…"

"Lincoln, you'd better not…" she tried to stop him before he got to say something stupid.

"It could have hurt you real bad, you could have… you could have died because of me, Ronnie Anne!" Lincoln was almost shouting, more at himself than the person in front of him.

Ronnie Anne could take this no more. Lincoln was getting a habit of going into self-accusing rants. He was once again acting as if he had to save her like she was some princess.

She stepped in front of Lincoln who wasn't even looking at her, no doubt preparing the next bunch of apologies and nonsense about her being in danger. She had to stop him talking right now and she did it the only way she knew how to shut a boy's mouth for sure.

With a swift punch to the gut.

Lincoln bent over, the air leaving his lungs. Ronnie Anne made sure not to hit him so hard that she'd hurt him, but strong enough to knock some sense into him. This brought back memories of previous interactions with boys around school. Though she had to admit she much preferred hitting people for being too apologetic.

Ronnie Anne allowed herself to enjoy the moment of silence she had created for herself. She waited for Lincoln to catch his breath, got him by the shoulders and straightened him back up so that he faced her.

"Now you shut up and listen, got it?" she commanded.

"I go…" Lincoln tried to answer but Ronnie Anne pressed her fist against his chin so he shut his mouth and tried not to move a muscle.

"Stop apologizing, you knucklehead! You didn't do anything wrong." the girls said as she pulled her hand away.

"You're acting like you have to fix everything and save me again. It's not your fault we got in trouble and it's not your fault we almost got hurt. Hurt worse, anyway..." she said with a frown as she looked at Lincoln's arm. Now it was Ronnie Anne's turn to get angry.

"I called you here to say I'm sorry and you come and start apologizing…" the girl said as she looked away awkwardly.

"You what?" Lincoln couldn't contain his confusion.

Ronnie Anne looked back at him with irritation in her eyes.

"What happened there wasn't your fault, Lincoln. It was mine!" she said.

"But I didn't…"

"You didn't nothing!" Ronnie Anne interrupted. "It was my idea to go there, remember? I dragged you into this and I didn't want to stop when things got out of control."

The girl put her hands in her pockets and sat on the side of the stairs, looking away from Lincoln, her frown betraying how guilty she felt.

"And you tried telling me but I didn't want to listen. So stop apologizing. You shouldn't be worrying about me… you should be angry at me." the girl said as the scowl on her face got worse.

Lincoln stood beside her confused. Ronnie Anne was right - she told him about the Junkyard and she wanted for them to go in and take a look. But she couldn't be thinking he expected her to just give up on the adventure she had created for them. Lincoln was the one who had to tell her when things got dangerous - she was the bold daredevil, he was supposed to be the man with the plan.

"You always do this." Ronnie Anne said. "I'm putting you through all this stuff and you're being nice about it…"

"Ronnie Anne, no, I…"

"First the things I did to you at school… When we started hanging out I thought I could kinda make it up to you, but now I'm just making things worse." she said as she looked down at her feet.

Lincoln was surprised by what he was hearing. He sat on the stairs next to the girl.

"Ronnie Anne, listen…"

"If you apologize again I'm going to punch you so hard…" she threatened.

"I'm not, I'm not. Look… I got carried away. I was overthinking stuff again, these past two days. I guess I can't blame myself for everything that happened." Lincoln paused to think things over. "But neither can you." he turned towards her. "You suggested going there, but it's not like I didn't want to. You didn't make me."

"Yeah but you got hurt…" the girl shot a glance at the cuts he had.

"That's not your fault. It's no one's. Or its both of our fault if that makes you feel better. We both got way into jumping around all the sharp junk. And no one wanted for everything to start falling apart on us."

"I guess…"

"Can we just agree that we were both a bit stupid for not leaving that place when we should have and say that we'll be more careful."

"Lincoln, you were careful - you told me we should leave, but I didn't listen."

"Yeah, but I still went on couse I wanted to get to the top of that stupid pile of scrap..."

The two sat in silence for a moment.

"I'm OK with both of us being stupid. Let's forget about it." Ronnie Anne finally said.

"I'm all for that."

"But if you start talking about dying again, I'm going to rearrange your dorky face."

"I'm not going to." Lincoln was quick to answer. "If I promise to stop apologizing for everything, you have to promise me to not let me worry so much." he added after a moment.

"Can I do that by punching you some more?" Ronnie Anne asked, the frown finally leaving her face.

Lincoln instinctively put his hand on his stomach before answering.

"I was hoping it could be in a less painful way." he said before thinking of a comeback.

"And didn't you just say you were sorry about being rough with me at school? I thought you were finally getting soft on me." he said with a smirk.

"Don't get smart with me." Ronnie Anne said with a smile of her own as she finally seemed to cheer up. "It's not too late to kick your butt for trying to act like a saint again."

"That's more like it." Lincoln was happy with things getting back to normal.

Silence lingered for a bit once more. This one was not filled with tension though. It was just a moment of both of them enjoying the positive change in mood.

Ronnie Anne stood up first.

"Let's get going. I feel like getting a soda. My treat."

"I'm not gonna say no to that." Lincoln said as he got up as well.

The two of them started their usual walk home, close by each other's side.

"So I'm not gonna worry about you too much and you'll tell me when I get carried away, right?" Lincoln asked.

"Yep."

"Wanna try it out?"

Ronnie Anne raised an eyebrow.

"How's your leg?" the boy asked hesitantly.

Ronnie Anne took a moment to answer, the tension rising a bit again.

"It's fine, it doesn't even hurt anymore." the girl finally answered nonchalantly, Lincoln almost letting out a sigh of relief.

"What about the time at the dump? If you need to, my mom can take a look at you."

"Now you're going too far." Ronnie Anne said with a faked scowl.

"Right, right…" Lincoln averted his look, trying to look innocent.

Another moment of silence came as the two kinds were slowly walking along.

"How's your arm?" Ronnie Anne asked, trying to look disinterested on her own.

"It's fine. We got it clean. Got a tetanus shot too, just in case."

"Ouch…" she commented sympathetically.

"Yeah."

"It was a fun afternoon though, you gotta admit."

"Yeah, it was." Lincoln answered, happy they were again talking with such ease.

"We should do it again sometimes, huh?" Ronnie Anne asked.

Lincoln turned his head in surprise, only to see her hardly containing a chuckle.

"You should see your face!" she finally gave up and laughed.

"Oh you think it's funny? You'll see…" Lincoln threatened, failing to think of a good comeback.

"I'm shaking all over." Ronnie Anne said smugly and the two continued on their way.

Throughout the entire walk from school neither one of them let go of the other's hand. They didn't feel the need to even mention the fact.

Was this becoming their thing, Lincoln wondered.

Ronnie Anne guessed it was becoming their thing.

 **AN:**

 **At one point this was a romance/comedy… I guess this is what writing yourself into a corner feels like. I need to get back to the mushy, lovey-dovey stuff, and fast. And back to the attempts at humor too, those were nice as well.**

 **And now that I have distracted everyone with vain promises of quality writing, there is no need to apologize for being inexcusably late. No need at all…**

 **I am ever thankful for your interest.**


	7. Chapter 7

Once again at the corner of diverging paths, a couple of sodas having been downed, the two almost not just friends stopped.

"So... See you on Sunday I guess." Ronnie Anne tried not seeming too eager.

"Sunday?" Lincoln asked.

"Yeah, you know. The party I told you about? At my cousin's, the one who's new in town."

"Oh, right. That was this week... What present do you think she'd like?" Lincoln tried sounding like he hadn't forgotten.

"Don't worry about that, just bring a flower. It's tradition or something."

"Oh, OK... Is it going to be just us and some family?" Lincoln asked, thinking of how awkward it'd be if he knew no one at the party.

"There's gonna be a few more people. I think Gabby from arts and crafts is coming. Bobby says the whole thing's supposed to be special or something so there'll be a lot of relatives coming, but we're not gonna be part of any of that traditional stuff. We can just go and have some fun and make sure Carrie, my cousin, feels at home." Ronnie Anne explained. "My aunt says the cake she ordered is gonna be awesome." she added. "You can come to my house around six and we can walk there together or something."

"Sounds great. Can't wait to spend more time together." Lincoln blurted out.

Not thinking before saying that, an awkward silence ensued. That sounded a bit too mushy to Lincoln himself. Before he could think of a way to change the subject, Ronnie Anne made sure to relieve the tension.

"Well don't get any funny ideas Romeo. I'm not bringing my dancing shoes." she said, punching him in the shoulder, perhaps a bit stronger than necessary.

While Lincoln was rubbing the new sore spot he had just acquired, Ronnie Anne started walking away.

"See you then weir... Lincoln." she changed her mind at the last moment.

He wasn't too sure about it, but decided to take that as a good sign and turned towards the street that led home.

And to think the day started in so much worry. Ronnie Anne was treating him better than he imagined she would. It was like she cared if she hurt him. Well maybe not physically. That wasn't something to pay too much attention to though, Lincoln told himself. It wasn't that big of a deal. It's what friends do. Normal, ordinary, everyday friends. Right…

Lincoln entered his house in a bit of a daze. The silence and calm of the interior let him enjoy the possibly positive exchange he had a few moments ago.

Wait… Silence and calm? As Lincoln realized something was terribly wrong, he took in his surroundings to find himself encircled by a pack of wild sisters. He froze in place, feeling like a gazelle amongst a pride of lions.

Every sister, from oldest to youngest was there, stalking the pray that had foolishly walked amidst them. How did they even get home all at the same time? Were they just waiting for him in the living room?

Lincoln shrunk under the gaze of so many siblings, waiting for the inevitable onslaught. The silence was so absolute, Lincoln could hear the accelerated palpitations of his frightened little heart. But he knew better than to break the quietude. A single peep could make the pride attack.

He had to think fast. What had he done this time? Did he forget a sister's birthday? No, that wasn't it, the dates were all circled with red marker on his calendar. Did he come back home all busted up again? No, everything had gone almost completely non-violently today.

But as Lincoln was searching for the reason for his precarious position, they pounced. Lightning fast and merciless, they got a hold of him before he could react and no muffled cry of surprise or fear could make them stop dragging him to one of their many lairs. Before Lincoln could muster any sort of resistance, he found himself in Lucy and Lynn's room, surrounded by the multitude of his oppressors.

A quick assessment was in order if Lincoln was to retain any sort of control over the situation.

He was sitting on a kitchen chair in the middle of the bedroom, which was surprisingly clear of sports gear and occult paraphernalia. That obviously meant this was a planned setup. That was bad.

Neither his hands nor feet were tied to the chair and he even got some free space between him and the nearest sister. That was good.

Lola and Lana were standing on both sides of the door, arms crossed and looking at Lincoln like they knew what was going through his head. That was bad.

There were no incriminating report cards, embarrassing photos nor broken sisterly belongings to be questioned about anywhere in sight. That was good.

Most of the sisters around Lincoln had either knowing smirks or excited smiles on their faces. That was definitely bad.

Lincoln knew that talking his way out of whatever was happening required the right target. Knowing who to plead to, bargain with or pull in a favor from was crucial, but all of the Loud girls seemed like they were in on this.

Lori was leaning against Lucy's bed in front of him, arms folded, with a look on her face like everything was going according to plan.

Leni was rummaging through a box that didn't look like it belonged in this room, all the while humming some infectious tune.

Luna was tuning the strings on her acoustic guitar, sitting in the back of the army of sisters with a grin on her face.

Luan had Lincoln really worried, being armed with a camera, standing in position with a clear view to him, with the ever present brace clad smile on her face.

Lynn was standing closest to the chair in the middle of the room, looking the least amused out of everyone, Lincoln not included.

Lucy was sitting on the floor holding a clipboard, her intentions inscrutable behind the veil of her dark bangs.

Lana and Lola were still standing by the exit, looking proud to be assigned to guard duty.

Lisa was sitting on a pile of books, going through the contents of the backpack that had somehow gotten off of Lincoln's back.

And finally Lily was sitting on her blanket next to Lucy, playing with something. She would have seemed like the only one not included in the obvious scheme against her brother, had she not looked excited to see whatever was about to occur.

"I don't suppose this is just a sibling meeting to decide on a fun weekend trip?" Lincoln finally spoke, finding no easy target for potential negotiations.

"Oh, it'll be fun alright." Lori said, obviously the head of the whole plot. "We've got your next few days all planned out." she added with a sly smile.

"Come on, guys, tell me what's going on." Lincoln pleaded. "What did I do this time? I've hardly even seen most of you these past few days."

"You have a lot to answer for, little brother - you have been hiding a lot from us." Lori explained, swaying her head dramatically. "Why did you come home late from school today?"

"I, uh... went for a jog." Lincoln tried to improvise.

"And why didn't you tell us about the birthday party you are going to?" Lori pressed on.

"It must have slipped my mind." Lincoln was starting to feel pressured.

"That "jog" you just had didn't seem to jog your memory, heh-heh." Luan chimed in.

"How did you find out about that anyways?" Lincoln couldn't help but ask.

"We have ways of finding out." Lori said, patting her phone pocket.

"You've been holding out on us, bro. Not cool." Luna looked up from her guitar.

"I don't have to tell you guys anything! You're just trying to butt in again." Lincoln started getting vexed. "And what is all this about?" he gestured around the room. "I'm already going to the party, so you just wasted your time if you did all this just to make me go." he finished with a scowl on his face.

"You're going, alright." Lori rebutted. "And you're going to bring a flower, and you are going to be well mannered, and you're going to be dressed smartly, and you're dancing like a proper little gentleman."

"I'm what?" her brother exclaimed.

"It's going to be so romantic..." Lola said, already imagining the whole thing.

"I'm not dancing with anyone! You can't make me!" her brother responded. "I'm going there just to have fun and none of you are going to be there to nag me neither."

"Wrong on both accounts, Lincoln." Lori's confident smile widened.

"Wh..."

"Carrie, the girl whose birthday you're going to, is in Luna's class." Lori explained with glee.

"She's wicked awesome and I'm not missing that party for the world." Luna threw up the horns.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

"And she's going to make sure you do everything we've planned." the eldest sister continued.

"Come on guys, just let me go to a normal birthday party. Please? Don't I deserve doing something without your meddling?"

"Oh, you're in deep, Link. You're getting your just deserts along with that birthday cake." Luan giggled.

"You didn't feel like telling us you were going to the birthday party." Lucy pointed out monotonously.

"Also…" Lisa added. "Earlier this week you opted to procure entertainment within an unsafe environment."

"Yeah, and we couldn't procure your bruises, cuz you didn't tell us you got hurt." Leni said accusatory, lifting her head from her mystery box.

"You looked like you were trampled underfoot, bro. We're supposed to keep an eye on you and make sure you're OK and you went and hid from us." Luna said with hurt in her voice.

"And you didn't tell us you were meeting Ronnie Anne." Lola accused Lincoln.

"Lori! I thought you wouldn't tell everyone I was meeting her after school all week." Lincoln was quick to blame his sister.

"I didn't." she smiled. "You just did. They only knew about the party on Sunday."

A moment of silence followed as Lincoln was chastising himself mentally and his sisters were exchanging looks of disbelief and irritation. He could have saved himself a bit of trouble if he wasn't this careless. The stress was getting to him.

"You were hiding that too? Why wouldn't you tell us about going out with your girlfriend?" Leni expressed her outrage.

"She's not my…" Lincoln tried to interject.

"What else are you hiding from us? Lisa, anything good in there?" Lana turned to her little sister holding their brother's school bag.

"Nothing of note. Merely unused school books and fan comics of questionable quality."

"Hey!" Lincoln reacted to both the breach of privacy and the jab at his artistic talent.

"Don't worry girls, he'll make up for it." Lori said.

"What do you even want from me? You can't all come along just to make me suffer!"

"Of course not, Lincoln, we're not barbarians - we weren't invited." Lola took offense. "Well, except for Luna."

"We're just going to make you look and act like you're supposed to when you go to such an event with your girlfriend." Lori explained

"Ronnie Anne's not my girlfriend!" Lincoln protested to little reaction. She really wasn't even if a part of him wished it was otherwise.

"You are going to be dressed smartly, you are going to look prim, you are going to smell nice, you are going to act properly and you are going to participate in all the activities and dances." Lori explained with certainty.

Lincoln needed a moment to take that in. Did she really think they were going to make him do any of those things?

"There's no way I'm doing all that!" he exclaimed. "I don't care if Luna's coming or not, I'm just going to go there to give the girl a flower, have some cake and meet a few friends!"

"You're not getting off that easy, bro. Carrie's super cool and it's a crime that she doesn't have a ton of friends already so we're going to make her feel super special." Luna explained in a serious tone. "Her quinceañera is a big deal and you are going to be a good chambelane."

"I'm going to be a what in her what?"

"You are a guest of honor in her special birthday entourage." Lori explained.

"I can't do that, I don't know anything about that quince..." Lincoln stumbled trying to pronounce the unfamiliar word.

"Quinceañera. That's why I'm here." the eldest Loud sibling said contently. "I'll teach you everything you need to know about the customs and your responsibilities." she said, producing a notebook.

"But I…" Lincoln had to think of something. This was getting out of hand. "I can't be part of some fancy formal stuff. I'm going like this." Lincoln said, looking at his usual attire.

"Like, no you're not." Lori rolled her eyes.

"Your outfit is totes ready." Leni said, finally producing a bright red frilled shirt from the box she was standing over. Lincoln thought there was no way he was going to show his face anywhere in that.

"But I don't know how to act all formal and stuff." Lincoln continued trying to think of excuses.

"I'll be in charge of that." Lola proudly stated. "With a little luck you'll be at least a bit more civilized."

"I don't have time to do all that, I uh… I have tons of homework to do for next week."

"I'd hardly describe this as work. A time waste really." Lisa assured, looking at his rucksack's contents. "I will be done with it by day's end."

Lincoln was getting desperate. This conspiracy ran deeper than he thought. His sisters had seemingly thought of everything.

"Yeah, well I don't know how to dance all fancy. And you can't make me do it even if I did!" Lincoln said, arms crossed.

Lori pushed herself away from the bedpost she was leaning against.

"You seem to be underestimating the situation, Lincoln. The emergency sibling meeting decided on making sure everything goes smoothly this weekend." she said, getting closer.

"I wasn't part of any meeting!"

"It was decided that in light of the recent circumstances your input on the matters at hand would be inconsequential." Lisa adjusted her glasses.

"In the next couple of days we are going to make sure you get all ready for the big day." Lana said.

"Even mom's OK with it - she thought a little quality time with the family is a great way for you to make up for not telling us what happened to you last Tuesday." Luan added.

"No way..."

"So don't worry about the dancing." Lori leaned down to Lincoln's level, all full of herself. "Me and Lola know the dances you'll be doing, Luna's going to make sure you put it all to use once you two get to the party and Lynn here..." Lori put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Will be your training partner." she finished with a grin on her face, standing back up, happy with herself.

Lincoln was speechless for a moment because of what was being thrown at him. He looked at his sports loving sister in disbelief. She hadn't spoken during the whole confrontation, no doubt not being happy with what her role in this conspiracy would be. Lynn returned her brother's look with an expression that showed little excitement over the matter.

"They said I was closest to your height." she shrugged.

"You can't be OK with this..." Lincoln said in disbelief.

"We have a special deal with Lynn." Lori explained. "Since she'll have to deal with the most of your bumbling, I'll be treating her to whatever she wants from the pizzeria."

"And you went along with it?" the boy still couldn't believe.

Lynn shrugged again.

"Meatball pizza is meatball pizza, bro." she answered. "Besides, I'm still mad at you for tricking me when you got home all busted up. They said I can't do anything to your legs so this'll have to do." she added, narrowing her eyes threateningly.

Lincoln swallowed hard. Things were looking bad. There seemed to be no cracks in his sisters' plan. His only option was to try and somehow escape their grasp.

"The next few days are going to be quite busy." Lola mused.

"That's not that much time neither if we want to make you into a proper little gentledude." Luna added.

"And if we want to be on schedule, we have to start in five minutes." Lucy said, looking at her clipboard.

"Right. We're starting with dancing right away - Lynn has practice after this." Lori commented.

"Here's your awesome new shirt, put on your black pants and I guess your shoes will do for now." Leni said as she was handing her brother her creation. "Now go into your room and change."

"And hurry up or we'll drag you out of there." Lola added.

Lincoln was not happy with the situation at all but at least he got an excuse to leave his sisters' sight. Now was his chance to call for backup. Maybe he could get Clyde to run a diversion. Yeah, that was it. If he could just get away from all of this for a moment...

Lincoln got up from the prisoner's chair and took the neatly folded shirt off of Leni's hands. As he was about to exit the room he gave all the sisters that had conspired against him an insulted look. All except for Lily who was innocently sitting on the floor playing with... his phone? Before Lincoln had time to figure out how his sisters had gotten it off of him, Lola and Lana shoved him into his room and shut the door.

How was he supposed to call for reinforcements without his phone? Lincoln once again cursed the fact that his window was so high above the ground. He had always suspected his parents made sure all the kids had rooms on the second floor so that they would have a hard time escaping familial prosecution.

Lincoln looked around his room. They had also been here... It was all a mess. But not the usual mess where he knew where everything was. His sisters had outdone themselves this time - they had taken both his walkie-talkie and his laptop.

Things were looking dire. Lincoln was cut off from the rest of the world, the exits were guarded and all diplomatic efforts seemed doomed. Having little choice in determining his immediate future, Lincoln decided to wait for a more opportune moment to act. Perhaps tomorrow, maybe at the quinceañera. For now he had to go along with his sisters' meddlesome ways.

"You'd think that such turn of events would bring a guy down..." Lincoln addressed no one in particular. "But in a family as big as mine, you sometimes find yourself getting the short end of the stick. Especially if you get so many sisters working against you. But what that has taught me is that even if you lose one battle, there will be many, many more in the endless sibling war."

Accepting his fate for now, Lincoln got a hold on what Leni had made for him and gave it a good look. It was a long sleeved shirt of crimson color with a spread collar, turnback cuffs and frills all along the middle, on both sides of the button line. Were it not an instrument of his sisterly oppression, Lincoln might have been impressed with his second eldest sister's handiwork. It looked like something straight out of a South American drama. Normally he wouldn't be caught dead wearing something like that.

"Hurry it up, dancer boy!" he heard Lola from outside, reminding him that dead or not, he was going to wear it.

Discarding his usual getup, he got a pair of black suit pants and the newly acquired shirt and put them on quickly. Despite knowing Leni took his measurements for more than half an hour, Lincoln was still impressed with how what she had made fit so well. The collar felt like it was trying to choke him though so he made sure to leave it unbuttoned.

Finally ready, Lincoln took a look at himself in his mirror before getting out. The shirt looked as fitting as it felt, but he still didn't know why he had to dress so formal for a birthday party.

Having resigned to his new look, he got out of his room and back into Lucy and Lynn's.

All his sisters were waiting for him, having retreated onto the beds and the back of the room, leaving the center free with even the interrogation chair now missing, making for an improvised dance floor.

The girls greeted him and his new outfit with a mixture of oohs, awws and straight out laugher, which contributed to Lincoln's sour mood. Somehow making fun of siblings never went out of style for the Louds.

"Finally." Lola grunted.

"Well, aren't you a dapper little dude." Luna said.

"Looking good, Casanova." Lana chuckled.

"It looks so good on you, Linky! We'll have to iron the pants out before the party though." Leni admired her work.

"Well I'm glad you like it..." Lincoln stressed his discontent. "And do all of you need to be here for this?" he asked, anticipating the awkwardness that was to come.

"We're not missing this for the world, Lincoln." Lucy said, almost expressing emotion. "Besides, we need to make sure you don't mess this up." she added, tapping the list she was holding with her pencil. "We have a lot of ground to cover."

"The optimal rehearsal conditions would be for you to practice on a genuine dance floor with your partner to be, who'd be donning the attire she'd be wearing during the occasion, but the bedroom carpet and Lynn in her sports uniform will have to do." Lisa sighed.

"Yeah, I told you I'm not putting a dress on." Lynn responded, crossing her arms.

"But I've got one that's just your size." Leni pleaded. "And it goes great with this little hairclip."

"There's not enough pizza in the world for that, sis." Lynn said as she got to Lincoln in the middle of the room.

"You never want to wear the cute clothes I make you…" Leni lamented

"Let's just get this over with." Lynn grumbled as she grabbed her brother's hand.

Lincoln didn't know what to expect. He wasn't used to being this close to his athlete of a sister unless she wanted to hurt him either intentionally or through some sport activity that would inevitably end poorly for him.

"OK, Lincoln first we'll work on your dance posture." Lola explained all professionally. "Hold onto her hand. Keep your feet together. Don't slouch. Look your partner in the eye." she started ordering. "Now put your hand on her waist."

"My what on her where?" Lincoln was starting to feel the embarrassment going straight to his face.

"Your hand on her waist." Lola stressed on both nouns. "This is a waltz after all."

"There's no way I'm doing a slow dance, you guys!" Lincoln protested once he fully realized what he was getting dragged into. He guessed the formal clothing he was made to wear should have given it away.

"As one of the chambelanes you are literally the first to dance with the damas after the traditional dance between the birthday girl and her father." Lori explained. "You are going to slow dance and you are going to like it." she finished threateningly.

"I'm not going to be late for baseball practice because of this." Lynn stated with irritation, grabbed Lincoln's other hand and slapped it on her waist.

"Good." Lola approved. "Now Lynn, you put your hand on his shoulder." she continued instructing while pacing back and forth. "Lincoln, you'll lead the dance so remember the moves we're going to teach you carefully. Luna, a little waltz music, please."

"You got it, sis."

Once his older sister started strumming, Lincoln realized that this was really happening. Of all the things he had thought his sisters would put him through because he upset them, because they knew he was meeting Ronnie Anne or just because they liked toying with him, waltz practice with Lynn had somehow not occurred to him.

 **AN:**

 **This chapter turned out a tad long... So here's the first half of it.**


	8. Chapter 8

Under the rhythm of the acoustic guitar, Lola started instructing Lynn and Lincoln on the routine. The steps were simple at first and he was mostly trying not to step on his sister's feet. After rehearsing the start of the dance, they moved on to what Lincoln thought of as some weird circling around each other. First Lynn went around him, then he did the same, all the while Lori was making sure they did it just like in the video on her tablet. After that there were some more steps and then they had to cross their arms behind each other's backs in weird way and spin some more. Then it got easier with some more slow steps but even those where awkward to do.

Having gone through every element, they did the entire thing once more to try and string them together. Lori was constantly correcting their steps, Lola was adjusting their stances and Leni reminded them that during the real thing there would be a ball gown to look out for.

Lincoln felt like a marionette that everyone was trying to move around. The embarrassment that came with dancing in front of and with sisters was alleviated somewhat by the odd air of professionalism that hung in the room. Lincoln was expecting a lot more teasing and commentary from the onlookers, but all he got was chuckles when he managed to trip over his own feet.

Lynn also went through the whole dance routine like it was work. She didn't know the steps neither, but she had better general coordination than Lincoln and didn't step on his feet as much as he did on hers. He guessed she was treating this as just another type of sports practice in order to remember the motions and the rhythm. And perhaps because just like Lincoln, she wasn't too much into it, this was a way to not think of it as dancing. Lincoln hadn't come up with such a coping mechanism though and he could practically feel the warmth radiating from his face.

After they tried to do the entire bit, Lucy abruptly reminded everyone that Lynn had to leave soon and when she did, some of the other sisters also left, perhaps satisfied with the spectacle. Luna went to her room to practice, Lola said she had to do something and Leni went to finish some sowing, leaving fewer sisters to tend to their pupil/prisoner.

Lincoln was presented with a chair again and Lori proceeded to try and explain how the quinceañera was going to go down. Apparently the fact that it was also going to be a surprise made things a bit more complicated. Everyone had to be at the birthday girl's house early and they had to go to the back yard. There everything would be set up and they'd wait for her to come. Right after she entered, the dances would start and Lincoln had to do his with everyone else, because he was a "chambelane", whatever that meant. After that, there would be a toast and then presents would be given. Since Lincoln didn't know the girl, he would only present her with a flower and congratulate her. With that over, everyone would be free to eat, mingle and dance.

Lori delivered everything very matter of fact-y, looking at a list she had, but made sure to add some words of encouragement.

"It's not that much so even you shouldn't have trouble remembering it. It's a very important event for the girl and we're not gonna let you ruin it."

"What is so important about just another birthday party?" the boy didn't hide his confusion.

"Lincoln, the fiesta de quince años is a totally awesome tradition and it marks a turning point in a young woman's life." she explained with a bit of ire. "And..." she continued. "It's a great party with food and dances where you can finally treat Ronnie Anne properly instead of showing her some junked old van."

"Hey, I didn't..." Lincoln was about to contest that claim, but stopped himself. He didn't want to neither go into the trailer story, nor did he want to explain what he and Ronnie Anne were up to together.

"Never mind..." he mumbled, prompting a smirk on his sister's face.

After the dance rehearsal and the lecture, it was time for dinner and the party related lessons halted. After supper had finished, Lincoln feared that there would be more sister initiated activities but he got off relatively easy. Lola handed him a description of the choreography of the group dance and Lucy gave him a wish she had written for him to say to the birthday girl, after which he was confined to his room.

The wish was short enough fortunately, but the crayon drawings that Lola had made for him of a top down view of the dance floor were a lot and he got bored soon. What was this? Prison homework?

Lincoln looked around his communication device free room and wondered if he could sneak out and search for his belongings. He got to his room's door and opened it as quietly as he could in order to peek outside. Unfortunately, Lana had decided to play with her many pets right in the middle of the corridor. Or perhaps she was stationed there purposefully.

Having no luck with his attempt to attain freedom, he decided to console himself with last week's comic book issue before turning in for the night.

Lincoln's Saturday morning started more explosively than he was used to with Lynn bursting through his door, prompting him to jump out of his bed and land next to it.

"Hey, Linc, you up yet?" she asked, hanging by the door frame.

"Take a guess." Lincoln replied through the blanket he was tangled in on the floor.

"Get up and get dressed. We're cutting a rug in half an hour and I'm not saving you any breakfast."

"Ugh, what time is it?" Lincoln asked as he tried to free some limbs from the tangle.

"It's five to nine. I got you up five minutes early to give you extra time to get pumped up." she explained.

"Gee, thanks."

As Lynn left the room, Lincoln decided that his encounter with the bedroom floor was enough to get him fully awake so he got up. Was his sister excited for dance practice or was she just aching to see his comfort zone being shattered again?

Luckily for the groggy young man, at nine a.m. on a Saturday morning there weren't that many sisters in line for the bathroom and as soon as Lola was done, he got his fifteen minutes of shower time.

With another few minutes to spare, Lincoln got to the kitchen and managed to get a bit of his father's scrambled eggs. Maybe there was something to this getting up before ten thirty on a weekend. Well, maybe if it weren't in order to get to dance rehearsal.

Finishing his breakfast, Lincoln was almost escorted back upstairs and into Lynn and Lucy's room. The prospect of seeing the spectacle of him trying to dance with his sister was apparently counteracted by the early hour, resulting in fewer onlookers this morning.

"How much more of this are we doing?" Lincoln asked as Luna, Luan, Lynn and Lola all got into position.

"The dance is tomorrow, Lincoln. We hardly have any time to try and make you half decent at this." Lola replied.

"Hey, I'm not that bad at it." Lincoln got defensive out of habit.

"Oh yeah, show us the first five steps."

"Uh..."

"Thought so. Now grab Lynn and let's get going. We're starting from the top." Lola ordered.

Lincoln got into the awkward dancing position with his sister again and they tried to do something resembling a dance under the sounds of Luna's guitar.

Steps, steps, circling, steps, then some more twirling and the finish. Lincoln didn't completely lose his balance this time and him and Lynn only stepped on each other's feet twice each but Lola still wasn't happy.

"You're not doing it right! And if I wasn't telling you what came after what, you wouldn't know what to do. We're doing this again!"

Another full rehearsal later Lynn had to leave for practice again and after she had left for soccer training, Lori got a hold of Lincoln and gave him another quinceañera lesson about some shoe changing or something. He wasn't paying much attention as he was getting a bit fed up with his weekend getting bogged down by all this. He didn't deserve it. So he didn't feel like learning something he knew he wasn't going to use, because as soon as he was out of his sisters' sights he was going to make sure to just have fun at the party, Luna present or not.

"Lincoln, are you even listening?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah. Ceremonial dolls." he repeated the last thing he remembered hearing.

"Hm..." Lori expressed her suspicion before continuing.

After that waste of time, his biggest sister had to go out shopping and Lincoln was left alone for a bit before the next lesson. He was sure this was to be one of the few chances to try and attain his freedom so he decided to act. The probability of him being able to reach one of the exits unhindered was slim, so instead he opted to try establishing communications with the outside world. The chances of him finding his walkie-talkie were also small, so he had to rely on phones to try and reach Clyde for help. If that failed, he might try contacting Ronnie Anne - maybe she was facing a similarly frustrating situation.

Lincoln didn't think he would be able to acquire any of his sisters' phones without the help he had last time so his first option was to try and retrieve his own, the last known whereabouts of it being Lily's hands. That in mind, he headed towards his youngest sisters' room and carefully peeked inside.

Luck seemed to be on his side as Lily was there and she was alone. Lincoln knew she wouldn't be left unattended for long so he guessed Lisa must have gone for a snack or to the bathroom. Seizing the opportunity, he walked straight to the baby playing on the floor.

"Hey, Lily, what've you got there?" he said as he got to her, fake grin plastered on his face.

His sister looked up from the balloon popping game she was playing on his phone and gave him a big smile.

"Inkin!" she happily tried to say his name as she waved her little arms.

"How about you let your big brother play on the phone?" he said as he sat down on the floor in front of Lily, but as soon as he reached for his device, the smile on her face was replaced with a look of concern as she followed the movement of his hand.

Lincoln stopped midway and retracted his arm only to see his sister regain her happy composure and merrily blow a raspberry.

He tried reaching for it again and Lily dropped her smile once more. As Lincoln's fingers touched his phone the little Loud frowned and tears started welling up in her eyes, prompting her brother to pull his hand back again.

As he backed away, Lily returned her merriment and held her feet in her little hands, rocking back and forth, leaving Lincoln confused.

"It's OK, Lily, I'm just going to make a quick phone call and then it's right back to your game." he tried explaining to no visible response.

Lincoln knew that whatever window of opportunity he had was drawing to a close so in view of his sister's strange behavior, he resorted to one of his contingencies. Reaching into a pocket, he produced one of his stashed cookies and enticingly unwrapped it in his sister's sight.

"Do you want the cookie, Lily?" he asked as he waved the confection left and right. His baby sister's attention was completely occupied by the sugary treat and she outstretched her tiny arms towards it, opening and closing her fists.

Lincoln gave his sister the cookie and she eagerly took a bite of it with what few teeth she had. Her brother seized the opportunity and took his phone, seeing that he had several missed calls, but before he could even press a button, Lily cried out, making him drop the device.

As soon as the phone hit the carpet, Lily reached both for it and for her discarded cookie. Getting a hold of both of them, she stopped crying as if nothing had happened, but Lincoln knew better than to stay around. Even the shortest cry of his unattended baby sister was sure to attract attention so he quickly got out of the room before he could get caught and forced into even more social event related punishments.

Was Lily always this fascinated with technology? Or was she in league with her sisters in their attempts to force him to attend the Dance of Embarrassment? Could they have corrupted her with their evil meddling ways?

Hearing the knob of Lola and Lana's door being turned, Lincoln bolted for the stairs to his left, descended them as fast as he could and vaulted over the empty couch, landing on it and grabbing the remote.

Hoping he looked as innocent as possible, Lincoln stopped and listened for any signs of suspicious sisters while he waited for his heart to stop beating a mile a minute. Not hearing any shouting, the familiar noises of people going about their business came from upstairs and the kitchen.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lincoln knew that his last option was to try and reach the familial computer and use it to contact the outside world, but his luck seemed to have run out. As soon as he looked over the back of the couch to see if the coast was clear, Lola began her dainty walk down the stairs.

"Ah, just the priso... I mean brother I was looking for." she corrected herself. "As soon as I print these instructions, we'll get right back to studying the choreography." she said, producing a bright pink flash drive. "Lisa says the crayon ones are "unsatisfactory" or something." she explained as she got to the PC.

And sure enough as soon as she was done, Lincoln was made to try and memorize where each dancing couple was supposed to be during the main dance. All of them were to form a cone in front of the birthday girl or something like that. It was so boring, Lincoln could hardly fake listening.

He wasn't spared the attention of his sisters even past dinner. As soon as they were done eating he was dragged back into the improvised dance hall that was his sisters' bedroom.

"This again?" Lincoln groaned as he realized what was in store for him.

"Chambelanes and damas usually have weeks to prepare for this so stop whining and ask your partner to dance!" Lori commanded.

"Yeah Lincoln, ask your girlfriend to a dance." Lynn teased her brother, an evil grin on her face.

"She's not my..." he was ready to repeat for the tenth time.

"Lincoln!" the eldest Loud sister yelled.

"Would you do me the honor?" he asked through gritted teeth, not hiding his contempt.

"And the bow." Lola reminded him, tapping her foot.

Lincoln bowed with one hand in front of his chest and the other outstretched to the side like he was shown what felt like a hundred times.

"Sure thing, Lame-o." Lynn replied, doing her best Ronnie Anne impersonation, prompting all sisters present to chortle.

This bit of humiliation was a reminder of what awaited Lincoln tomorrow if he didn't manage to escape his sisters' grasp and it only served to motivate him further to do so. Maybe if it wasn't for the circumstances of this forced learning experience, Lincoln could actually tolerate this. It wasn't like he hated spending time with his sisters. Lynn was looking like she was almost enjoying this new form of work out too. Just goes to show that too much sibling interfering ruins everything, Lincoln thought.

After practice was done, Lincoln was finally left alone and everyone started retiring to their rooms. He was just getting into his pajamas after everyone had brushed their teeth and was about to go to bed, resigning to his fate, when he heard a tap. Thinking he must have heard wrong, he continued changing, when he heard another one. Turning around, he realized it was coming from his window and he quickly opened the little port hole he had on his wall just in time for the third pebble to hit his face.

"I have got to stop doing that." he thought as he backed away and a bigger rock flew in through the open window. It had a note attached to it and Lincoln eagerly unfolded it.

"I couldn't contact you for a full 24 hours so I initiated a code magenta. What's going on? Clyde" was written on the note and Lincoln smiled with relief.

Him and Clyde were in touch so much that he had forgotten about the emergency code they had put together that said they needed to establish communication manually if technology failed them for more than a full day. He sure was glad his friend hadn't forgotten though.

Lincoln quickly turned the note and scrawled a response on the back of it.

"My sisters have me trapped. I need to get out of here, can I bunk in with you tonight?" he wrote and threw the rock back outside.

A few nerve wracking moments passed before the stone flew back in with a new note.

"It'll be hard to explain to my dads with me also breaking curfew right now, but it sounds serious. Come right down." was written on the note and Lincoln almost jumped for joy.

He quickly got into his regular clothes, put his pajamas and a few other things in his backpack and was ready to leave. This was perfect. He could go to Clyde's, spend the night there and not have to deal with sisters in the morning. He'd have to think of an excuse for his parents but that was manageable. Lincoln could altogether skip the stupid party tomorrow if Ronnie Anne was OK with it too - he'd be able to call her from his friend's phone and ask her if she was also going through this kind of hell.

Ready to leave, Lincoln turned off his light and prepared for the ordeal of trying to traverse his house without waking anyone. With only the moon in the cloudless night sky illuminating his room, he quietly opened his door, thinking he'd have to stop in the kitchen to leave his parents a note on the fridge.

What awaited him in the hallway thought made Lincoln stop in his tracks. In the corridor, right in front of his door and in total darkness stood a diminutive figure looking straight at him as if it had been waiting.

The tiny person started walking towards Lincoln slowly but surely, making him take a few steps back into his room. As they both got into his abode, the dim light coming from the round window illuminated Lisa's short form. She closed the door and once more turned to her brother.

"L... Lisa?" Lincoln whispered as not to wake any sister.

"Hello, brother." she answered in a similarly low tone. "In lieu of the circumstances, I suggest we keep this conversation quiet and short." she continued with her signature lisp. "In fact, let us play a game. I will ask you questions and the answers you give will shed light on your situation." she said, looking at the rays streaming from the window.

"Lisa, this isn't what..." Lincoln tried to explain himself, but was cut short.

"Do you think that I am unable to recognize snickerdoodle crumbs?"

"Um, you can?" Lincoln guessed. He didn't like where this was going.

"Yes, yes I can. Do you think that I am unable to track the movement of every family member in this house?"

"You can?" Lincoln genuinely asked this time.

"Yes, yes I can."

"How are you..."

"Do you think that I am unable to also track the movement of every family member's best friend?" Lisa cut off her brother again, picking up Clyde's discarded note from the floor, examining it in the light of the window.

Lincoln had not accounted for such a setback. But how could he have known? Were these safety measures leftovers from the security craze the whole family had gone through? Or was this just Lisa being Lisa?

"So what, you're going to tell everyone and get me into even more trouble?"

"Oh, no, dear brother. I may not have a penchant for raising my voice, but I assure you, if I so desired, I could have shouted the moment you set foot out of your quarters."

Freedom had seemed so close and now he had to go through a confrontation with one of his more frustrating sisters. And what did she have to gain from all of this anyway? Lincoln was both confused and frustrated.

"You know what? You can go ahead and do it!" the boy stood up to Lisa. "You can't get me in any deeper than this. And even if you did somehow manage to get me into more trouble, I still wouldn't go with your stupid plans!" Lincoln's rebelliousness was building up. "Tomorrow I'm gonna go straight to that party. You know what? Yeah. I'm not even gonna try and escape. And I'm just going to have fun, and get some food, and I'm gonna dance like I was at a rock concert and there's nothing any of you can do about it!" he finished a little out of breath from trying to both sound confident and trying not to raise his voice at the same time.

Lisa shook her head disappointedly.

"Let us continue our little game, shall we. What do you think was Luan's contribution to your practical lessons in dancing etiquette? Aside from obnoxious quips."

"I, uh…" Lincoln was surprised by the seemingly unrelated question.

"What was she in charge of, these past couple of days do you think?" Lisa pressed on with the tone of someone explaining a really simple concept to someone who wasn't following.

Lincoln's memory got into gear. And what he remembered didn't bode well. His pun loving sister wasn't tasked with any of the annoying tutoring that he was subjected to. All she did was sit in a chair all the while he was practicing with Lynn. Just sitting there holding a…

"I can surmise by your facial expression that you recalled she utilized her camera." Lisa noted in her calm, stoic voice. "So let me ask one final question. Do you think…" she paused "That I am unable to distribute the footage of you slow dancing with your sister, in a frilled red shirt, to every one of your peers?" she asked, giving her brother a cold, calculating look.

"You wouldn't…" was Lincoln's first reaction.

"I can assure you, I have no desire to. Though I can also to assure you… I would." Lisa finished, the fact that she eerily hadn't moved from her spot this entire time becoming apparent to Lincoln.

"Why would you go this far? Lori is obsessed with Bobby's family. Lucy is into all that romantic gunk. Leni will make anyone a new outfit if she thought it'd make them happy. But you? I know you only follow cold logic. How did they bribe you into this?" Lincoln expressed his confusion.

"How flattering, yet misguided." Lisa replied disappointedly. "Don't be fooled, Lincoln, I have done the math. But I am also your sister. I too have an interest in your wellbeing. Physical or otherwise. So be assured – it is optimal that tomorrow you go to the birthday celebration and do your little dance." she said lifting her head to face him, the light coming from the window illuminating her face. "So here is what you will do." she continued, the glow of the moon making the glasses she adjusted on her nose shine. "You will write to your concerned compatriot…" Lisa said, as a few new pebbles tapped Lincoln's closed window. "That you have reconsidered. That you do not wish to get him into trouble for missing curfew and that you will see him on Monday."

A silence followed, Lincoln thinking of his few available options.

"The choice is ultimately yours, brother. I will not call for any sibling, should you choose to depart tonight." Lisa said as she turned almost mechanically towards the door to Lincoln's room. "Though I trust…" she turned her head as she was about to leave. "That you shall make the correct decision."

After Lincoln was left alone in his room again, with his backpack in hand and ready to leave, he hesitated for a moment longer.

Then reached for the note on the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

Lincoln didn't sleep well that night. He kept waking and looking around his room for a sisterly presence.

Had Lisa always been this intimidating? Maybe Lincoln needed to add her to the list of sisters he had to avoid upsetting, alongside Lori, Lynn and Lola. She did have a penchant for watching people sleep… Maybe after this whole ordeal was over he could go to the hardware store and buy a latch for his door.

Having woken yet again, Lincoln decided that this was as good a time as any to get up. He did turn in early after all. Perhaps starting the day early as well would somehow make it easier to get through. Lincoln had no doubt his sisters had plans for today as well.

It wasn't even 9 a.m. yet and on his way to the bathroom his morning grumpiness gave him an idea. Lincoln stopped in front of the first door to the right and knocked. With no apparent reaction he continued until some shuffling could be heard from inside. Lynn opened the door sleepy and confused.

"What's going on? What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It's twenty to nine. Thought I'd wake you up so you can get pumped up." her brother answered coldly before continuing down the corridor, content with the poetic justice.

After his morning shower Lincoln got himself some cereal for breakfast and ate it in front of the TV. He didn't pay much attention to what was on. He was thinking of what he would be doing today.

Escaping before the event was not an option with his parents being awake. He'd have to go along with whatever his sitters had planned for him. Only when he was at the party could he finally set any plan into motion. This would have been so much easier if he had someone to help him out. Lincoln wished Ronnie Anne was with him. For help with his sisters, of course. Right…

Lincoln caught himself scooping into the empty bowl with his spoon. He went into the kitchen to leave them in the sink. Looking around the empty room, he thought of what he could do before today's prison activities began. Unable to come up with anything meaningful, he just got a bit more irritated.

Today couldn't end fast enough and Lincoln wanted to get started already – might as well get it all over with. He grabbed one of the chairs from around the kitchen table and hauled it up the stairs. He didn't pay any mind to the puzzled looks the siblings that he passed gave him, opened the door to Lynn and Lucy's empty room, got inside and put the chair down.

Some time passed before any sister entered the room and saw Lincoln silently sitting in the middle of the room. He didn't even acknowledge them as they gathered for the next tutoring session.

"Oh, stop moping, you know we're doing this for your own good." Lori commented on the sight as she got in.

"Do I?" Lincoln gave her a scornful look.

"You'll be thanking us when Ronnie Anne gets swooped off of her feet after she sees how much we've improved you." the eldest Loud sister said with confidence as she sat at her spot with a mug of coffee in hand.

"Shows how much you know Ronnie Anne." her brother grumbled as he stood up and got the chair out of the way. At this point every sister was preset for the usual orchestic entertainment.

"Are you saying we don't know what girls like?" Lori asked, but Lincoln didn't bother answering.

"Let's get this over with." the boy mirrored Lynn's line from their first rehearsal as he got ahold of her hand and pulled her to the middle of the room.

Still groggy from the early waking hour his sister didn't protest and just got into the initial dancing stance, yawning.

Lincoln gave Luna who was holding her guitar an expectant look. The purple clad girl turned to Lori questioningly.

"Let's go." she said, rolling her eyes.

Luna started the familiar song and Lola stepped in.

"OK, you start by…" she was saying but as the first chords rang out, Lincoln and Lynn automatically started doing the first few steps of the dance.

"Right…" the little pageant queen said, a bit confused.

Lincoln didn't pay much attention at this point. He just listened to the sounds of the song and moved to them, waiting for the final chorus to come. And it did. Several times in fact as he had to repeat the dance. The many rehearsals were split only by a brief lunch break. Lincoln didn't know if him and Lynn did any good or not but when they were finally done and the guitar stopped, a silence fell over the room as they both stood still, a little out of breath.

"Happy?" Lincoln asked coldly after a second.

"You two are so cute!" Leni couldn't restrain her adoration.

"I was hoping you'd fall again…" Lana commented.

"I think we weren't half bad, if I do say so myself." Lynn praised them. "Well, I wasn't." she tried to tease her brother.

"Yeah, well, you should have looked your partners in the eye…" Lola felt the need to voice some criticism.

"Are we done?" Lincoln asked joylessly, looking at Lori.

"Oh, you did just great. You deserve a present." Lori said ironically.

"Your praise means the world to me." Lincoln deadpanned. Lucy was starting to get a little jealous of her brother's proficiency at being dour. "I'm leaving."

"Seriously though, catch." his biggest sister got him to turn back to her.

Lori threw a little blue box at Lincoln and he impassively raised a hand to catch it. Looking it over he read the name of a brand he didn't recognize on the side of it.

"It is necessary to open the container in order to procure its contents." Lisa said with a lisp, earning herself an irritated look from Lincoln.

He opened the small cardboard box to produce a little colored bottle filled with liquid.

"We got you an owe the clown!" Leni merrily said, prompting several sisters to turn towards her with a puzzled look.

"What Leni meant to say was we got you an eau de cologne." Lisa explained patiently.

"I choose to take this as an insult." Lincoln informed, his face remaining devoid of any apparent emotion.

"Oh, lighten up. It's a nice brand and it's in this season." Lori made light of her brother's foul mood.

"Your generosity is heartwarming..." he responded.

"Well don't get too sentimental, it's coming out of your next birthday present budget." Lola chimed in.

"Aren't you going to smell it?" Leni asked.

"No." Was all Lincoln said. He really wanted the last hour or so of sororal rulership before he and Luna had to leave to finally end.

"Well it's great and it'll complete the whole Lincoln Loud esquire picture." the oldest sister said.

"The whole Lincoln Loud esquire picture would like to leave." he expressed his enthusiasm.

"Wow, you're full of sass today." Lana commented.

"Hope he'll have room for the sarsaparilla!" Luan failed to contain herself. "Get it?"

Lincoln didn't even bother acknowledging his sister's pun. He just stood there, mild annoyance on his face, waiting for the head warden to dismiss him.

"Lincoln and Luna need to start getting ready if they don't want to be late." Lucy informed.

Seeing as they weren't going to get a thank you, Lori finally rolled her eyes and waved a hand.

"Fine. Lincoln, go take a shower. Luna, get your stuff in the car." she said as she got up.

Even though showering more than once per day was a definite waste of his time, the white haired boy didn't make the effort to protest. The relative freedom of the outside world was almost in reach. One way or another this whole charade was going to end and he could get back to his normal life.

"More normal anyway." Lincoln thought as he got to his room to get his towel and toothbrush.

After the short-lived tranquility of the bathroom's privacy, Lincoln got back to his room to find his fancy clothes strewn over his bed, waiting for him. He was definitely going to the hardware store when all of this was over.

Lincoln got into his dark suit pants that were still warm from Leni's ironing and put his black shoes on. The red frilled shirt was next and as he put that on as well, the scent of cedarwood and citruses hit him. His sisters knew him better than to trust him to put the fancy new cologne on so they had made sure his shirt was generously sprayed. They had also put the congratulatory wish Lucy wrote in one of his pockets and breath mints in the other.

"Could they be any more controlling?" Lincoln thought as he buttoned up his shirt and as soon as he got out of his room his question answered itself.

Before he could react, Lincoln was set upon by a slew of sisters waiting outside his door.

Lucy put a white flower in his shirt's pocket, Lana propped one of his feet on a box and proceeded to spit shine his shoe, Lori buttoned his sleeve cuffs and Leni smeared something cold and wet on his head.

"Ew, Leni, what did you..." the boy protested.

"Hold still, Linky, or I'll give you a tacky nineties hairstyle." she jokingly warned and at that threat Lincoln stopped struggling, allowing his sister to expertly work the gel into his snow white hair. "You have to stop letting cows lick you, you know."

When all of his assailants backed off to take a look at their work, Lincoln stood still for a moment. He wondered how the assault would continue, but it didn't seem to at all and just as he relaxed a bit he found out why. Luan was lining a shot with the family camera and before he could react a bright flash made him cover his eyes.

A collective "aw" was heard as the majority of his sisters clumped together to take a look at the photo.

"What? What did you do to me?" Lincoln asked worriedly.

"Relax, bro. You look proper debonair." Luna reassured him.

"I don't even know what that means. Let me see."

"You have to go if you don't want to be late." Lucy stated from somewhere outside of Lincoln's line of sight. He actually had no idea what time it was.

"Right, let's get going, Lincoln, we're part of the welcoming committee." Luna reminded and as the boy gave his third oldest sister an irritated look, he noticed she had changed as well.

She was wearing a pair of long gray striped black pants, a white shirt and a similarly striped black vest on top. The getup was complete with a bowtie in Luna's signature purple, giving her an overall look of someone Lincoln imagined playing jazz in a piano bar.

Seeing as his sisters weren't going to let him see the latest embarrassing proof of his predicament, Lincoln let himself get dragged downstairs.

He was swiftly presented to his parents who were waiting by the door in the living room.

"Aw, Lincoln, you look so sharp." Rita admired her daughters' work.

"They grow up so fast..." Lynn Sr. tried to hold his tears.

"Come now, honey. We promised each other we wouldn't cry." Mrs. Loud put a hand on her husband's shoulder.

Lincoln rolled his eyes. If only this day could finally be over, the weird sister centric punishment along with it.

"Enough with the waterworks! They need to go." Lola interjected. "And make sure Lincoln doesn't weasel his way out of this, you too!" the pink clad girl reminded Lori and Luna who were leaving along with their brother.

The three of them got out and headed towards Vanzilla, parked in the driveway where Chunk was loading some of Luna's audio equipment into the back. As the two were exchanging words, Lincoln could feel the looks of his family coming from the living room window but he didn't give them the satisfaction of acknowledging them. He just went around the vehicle and got into one of the back seats. They were probably just trying to get more pictures out of this anyway.

Luna put her guitar case in the back and joined Lori in the front of the car.

"I bet you're even more excited than I am, Linc." she said. "We're gonna dance the night away!"

"Our excitement is incomparable..." Lincoln muttered.

"Listen here..." Lori was about to comment on his attitude when Luna ushered her to get going, so Lincoln was spared a lecture in favor of the lengthy process of bringing Vanzilla to life.

As the car got onto the street and was set on its course, Luna got on a tangent about all the cool people that were going to be at the party. Lincoln hardly recognized any of the names and quickly stopped listening. Dinnertime was quickly approaching and with Lincoln's afternoon being as labor intensive as it was, he was starting to get hungry so he passed the time getting to their destination by chewing on a few breath mints.

The ride there was short - they could have easily walked there had Luna not needed to bring her equipment. As they drove along one of the streets in the next neighborhood over, she pointed to a pretty one-story house and Lori drove around the back and parked along some other cars.

At the distinct sound of Vanzilla backfiring to a halt, a couple of Luna's friends that she played with came out of the back yard to meet them. They were dressed similarly to the loudest Loud, suggesting a performance was due tonight. They gave Luna a hand with the amps and cables that were in the back of the van.

Lincoln got out as well and absentmindedly exchanged hellos with Luna's band mates. His sister must have volunteered to provide music for the quinceañera. No wonder she knew all the dance songs for tonight.

As Lincoln stood there, hands in his pockets, Lori also got off of the car and started towards him. He practically felt the pep talk coming so he tried looking around for a distraction to occupy his mind, seeing as it definitely wasn't going to be focused on the plans his biggest sister had for his evening.

Lincoln's gaze fell on the musicians hauling Luna's Sterrett amplifiers towards the house when a lady in a dress came from the back yard. She greeted them and shook those hands that weren't full of equipment and then turned about, seemingly looking for someone until she saw Lincoln, to whom she smiled and waved.

"Here's the flower you're giving to Carrie." Lori handed over a bright pink chrysanthemum to her brother as she got to him. "Lincoln I expect you to be on your best..." she started her inevitable tirade but the white haired Loud was quick to seize the opportunity and promptly interrupted her.

"Sorry, sis, the welcoming committee's getting together and I don't want to keep everyone waiting, knowing we're an important part of Carrie's very special evening." he shot his sister a sly smile as he took the flower off of her and walked towards the lady at the gate.

The woman, pointing to the band mates where the audio gear was supposed to go, turned to greet Lincoln. As far as he could tell she was around his mom's age. She had olive skin, long auburn hair, braided to one side of her neck and was wearing a long off shoulder dress in reds and oranges. She had flowers in her hair and a shining smile on her face.

Her festive mood and attire made Lincoln think she looked very pretty. It also gave him the first impression that this was really more than just another birthday party.

"Hello, you must be Lincoln." she said with a faint South American accent as he got to her. "My name is Sofia. I am Carrie's mom."

"Hello Mrs. Sofia." Lincoln said awkwardly.

"No need for such formality." she laughed. "Everyone here calls me aunt Sofie, you should too." she said as she turned towards the yard. "Come on in."

Lincoln followed her through the gate in the wood fence and they got to the site of a small scale pandemonium. There were people setting up tables, propping up wooden poles around a dance floor and putting up streamers. Some of them were dressed festively like Sofia was, some were still in their everyday clothes as they were carrying stuff around.

"It's a bit hectic, I know." Sofia said as she turned towards Lincoln again. "But we're getting everything ready and I know it'll be great. We can't thank you, Luna and Leni enough for the help. One being in the band, you being a chambelán, the other sewing so many things for everyone…." she trailed off with a smile.

"Um, no problem... aunt Sofie. We're happy to help out."

"Aw, you are all so precious." she pinched his cheek. "I'm so happy Ronnie Anne and Carrie found all of you." she added, making Lincoln blush a bit.

"Now I need to go and try to wrangle some of these relatives." Sofia smirked. "My cousin Maria is helping me out a lot today and I asked her to take care of all the dancing preparations. She's around here somewhere, I'll go tell her you're here – I think you're the first member of the court to come."

As she was about to go find her cousin, Sofia turned to Lincoln again.

"Thank you again, I am sure Carrie's going to appreciate this a lot." she smiled. "Even though she will kill me for making this party a surprise." she winked as she walked away.

Lincoln was then left to himself amid the chaos and it allowed him to take it all in.

The back yard of the house was a little bigger than the one the Louds had and it was surrounded by a white fence. People were going in and out of the back door of the house, carrying punch bowls and trays with sandwiches. In one corner Luna and her friends were setting up their gear next to a bunch of extension cords. In front of them was a cleared up space made into a dancing floor. Tables were put along the sides of the house and were being covered with paper plates, plastic cups and snacks by all manner of relatives and guests. Streamers and bows were being strewn across the sides of the house, colored lights were being put up and a couple of poles were being erected with a sign strung between them that read "Happy 15th birthday, Carolina!". It all gave off the vibe of a celebration the likes of which Lincoln knew too well – something homey, chaotic and maybe last minute. But also heartfelt, genuine and personal.

"And almost as hectic and noisy as one of our birthdays." Lincoln thought as he stood to one side trying not to be in the way. "Guess I got some time before I get roped into my dancing routine."

And now that he thought about it, this was the perfect moment to act. Lori was gone, Luna was busy. Time to make a plan for tonight.

Lincoln wondered whether he was still going to go for an escape option. He didn't care what his sisters would think at this point and Clyde's place was always an option. But aunt Sofie was really nice to him and everyone around seemed to be doing their best to make this a special day. Another reason to stay was the cake that two people were about to get out of the house and into the yard. Three layers of vanilla frosting and glazed kiwis and strawberries were indeed convincing the boy to stay. Leaving was not going to be part of the plan.

Lincoln took another look around the whole place. This time he was searching for the points of interest rather than admiring the accommodations.

Luna was busy helping someone set up their drums. Sofia was herding some elderly relatives towards the chairs along the walls. There were still people setting up the tables. An elderly woman was sweeping the yard and reprimanding anyone foolhardy enough to be in her way. And even though Lincoln recognized some kids from his school, no one was paying attention to him.

The cake got put on one and the punch bowls on the other of the two giant tables. They both had flowing snow white covers and sectioned off the back yard with their long, food covered frames. The yard itself had three exits – the fence gate from which Lincoln had come in, the door to the house where most of the traffic was going through and the side door of the garage that was seemingly full of folding chairs.

A plan was forming in the boy's head. This evening didn't have to be as annoying as he had thought.

Lincoln was going to have to go through with the dance - he didn't feel like disappointing Carrie and her mom now that he saw how important tonight was. After that part the party was fair game though, social responsibilities and sisters be damned.

The punch and snacks table was to one side of the dance floor so it would make a great escape route. Having acquired a beverage and possibly churros, Lincoln would then go behind the central mass of chairs and walk to the table with the cake which at that point would probably already be portioned into the multitude of plates. Surely no one would notice one of those plates being liberated. With his treasures in hand, he would then have to only walk behind the pile of presents currently accruing to reach the corner of the garage where he could happily sate his growing hunger and enjoy whatever music his sister decided to blast tonight. All from the safe distance of the other side of the yard, from where she had no chance of spotting Lincoln. No more dances, no unnecessary social interaction no eyes on him.

As the sun behind him was starting to set over the taller town buildings, Lincoln smiled to himself. Observing from the back of the yard, he felt like a general surveying a battlefield. He liked this plan. It was a good plan.

"Not too shabby for someone who was imprisoned for the past two days, if I do say so myself." he turned towards the camera with a smirk.

His attention was then caught by someone approaching from the colorful mass of people.

It was a tall woman in a dress similar to Sofia's but in different hues. She was just walking away from some children in order to get to Lincoln.

"Must be the dance coordinator." he thought. "Was Maria her name?"

"Hello, Lincoln. So nice to see you again." she said as she got to him and at the sound of her voice Lincoln slapped himself mentally.

"Maria is Ronnie Anne's mom's name!" he thought.

The boy could hardly recognize her without her ever present white nurse scrub and cap. She was wearing a flowing reddish-brown dress with lots of lace and her black hair flowed around her head in curls instead of her usual tight bun.

"Uh, hi Mrs. Santiago…" Lincoln managed to greet her as she got to him.

"I'm so glad you were able to come. You and Luna will be of so much help tonight."

"It's no trouble. We're happy to help out." he parroted his earlier response.

"Let me take your flower to the vases. You can get it back when Carrie comes and give it to her before the first dance." she said as she got the chrysanthemum off his hands. "It's a very pretty flower, Lincoln. And you look dashing as well." she complimented with a wink.

"Um, thanks… My sisters helped out…" Lincoln tried to think of a response to the praise.

"I'll put this away now and as soon as the rest of the court of honor are here we can get all of you into position." she said walking away.

Lincoln now noticed that some of the kids that were dressed more formally were starting to gather around.

"They must have been the ones Mrs. Santiago was talking to." he thought, looking at one of the girls who had a beautiful blue dress. She was facing to the side but after a second of observing her, Lincoln did his second double take of the evening. The girl Ronnie Anne's mom was talking to a moment ago was none other than Ronnie Anne herself.

And then he saw her turn towards him.

And then she turned and saw him.

She was wearing a royal blue sleeveless dress, reaching all the way to the floor.

He was wearing a crimson shirt with frills running on both sides of the button line.

She had elbow length evening gloves matching her dress.

He had black formal trousers with black matching shoes.

She had her hair flowing over her shoulders in black curls.

He had his hair styled back in a slick white wave over his head.

She had a verbena flower in her favorite purple tucked behind her ear.

He had a jasmine flower in his signature white in his shirt's pocket.

The setting sun was illuminating her face and she looked like a princess.

The setting sun was illuminating his face and he looked like a prince.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Another year, another chapter I always say.**

 **Too bad my writing ability hasn't improved as much as my punctuality.**

 **Oh, well. There's always next time.**

 **Thank you to all those who voiced their approval, it helps greatly.**

 **PS: Here's a treat for all of you who managed to reach word 34 000 despite my best efforts:**

 **Go to Deviantart dot com and search for Silent-Sid and his drawing "The Loud House - Perchance to Dance".**

 **It may or may not be a rendition of the last scene of this chapter.**

 **Seriously though, my thanks to Silent-Sid for his awesome work. He does wonderful Loud House drawings and deserves all the favorites and follows he gets.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:**

 **I don't want to spoil you guys too much, uploading every four months and all, but I couldn't delay it any longer, and believe me I tried.**

 **Anyway, seeing as how if you're still here, reading this, I can only assume it's due to Stockholm syndrome of some kind, I'm going to try and make this a bit more palatable.**

 **If you haven't checked out chapter nine in a while, you might want to take a look at Silent-Sid and his drawing "The Loud House - Perchance to Dance" on Deviantart dot com. It is somewhat possible that it is connected to the last scene of that chapter. Or perhaps the first scene in this one.**

 **Seriously though, the pic is awesome, I love the way he portrayed the two little dancers to be. Brings the whole fanfic to life.**

 **Any-anyway, as one of the many dealers on this site, here's my dose of RonnieColn for our collective addictions.**

* * *

Lincoln couldn't avert his eyes. Ronnie Anne stood brilliant in front of him. The boy wasn't used to this Ronnie Anne. He knew the girl with the purple hoodie. The one who took lip from no one and could do a mean grind on the school stairs' rail. The one who's right hook he could attest to being quite good. But this Ronnie Anne who stood before him... she was different.

Lincoln didn't much care for fancy haircuts like Lola did, nor was he ever too appreciative of elaborate dresses like Leni was, nor did he take accessorizing nearly as seriously as Lori, but that didn't stop his jaw from being agape. Maybe it was seeing Ronnie Anne wear a dress for the first time. Maybe it was him not remembering ever seeing her hair flowing freely in the breeze. Maybe it was the look of wonder and the slight blush on her face. Maybe it was all of those combined. Whatever it was, the only cohesive thought that managed to go through Lincoln's head was that in front of him stood the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

The sun finally set over the cityscape, dulling the light and painting the horizon in crimson.

As Ronnie Anne blinked at the change of light, Lincoln snapped out of his stupor. Blood rushed to his face as he realized he must have been staring awhile. He frantically searched for anywhere to look aside from the dark haired girl and settled for the classic option of studying his shoes.

"Um... Hi, Ronnie Anne." Lincoln filled the uncomfortable silence while he waited for his face to stop radiating heat.

"Hey..." the girl replied.

Lincoln risked looking back up and it turned out to be a miscalculated gamble. At the sight of Ronnie Anne being as flustered as he was, his mouth started working on its own accord.

"You look... amazing." he heard himself say. Ronnie Anne put a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She looked so different with her awkward blush. If Lincoln didn't know her, he'd think she might be shy about the whole thing.

"Thanks. You, uh... You look nice too." she said hesitantly.

The two of them continued switching between awkwardly glancing at each other and awkwardly looking away until Ronnie Anne's mom came back.

"Oh, good. You're still here." she didn't notice the two's perplexity. "I hardly managed to gather the others. Let's get everyone in place, Carrie should be here soon." she gestured towards the relatively guest-free dance floor.

Lincoln and Ronnie Anne stiffly walked to where Mrs. Santiago gestured. At her call a bunch of other kids started gathering. They were all dressed similarly to the two dancers to be - the boys had red shirts and the girls all had blue dresses. Ronnie Anne's mom started arranging them in a "V" shape while the other partygoers were also getting into place. Guests were being seated and close relatives were lining the sides. Ronnie Anne's and Carrie's moms were fluttering around the whole place, rearranging people and giving smiles. The two's flowing dresses were weaving between the guests until Sofia's phone rang.

"She's coming, everyone, quiet down!" she waved her hands around and got into place herself.

Someone turned the lights out and the back yard got plunged into the evening shadows as everyone more or less got quiet.

Lincoln was experiencing a slew of emotions as they were waiting in the dark. It was exciting, everyone was waiting for the festivities to commence and he could feel the anticipation. At the same time, he was nervous and having to dance in front of everyone was not the only reason. Ronnie Anne was standing next to him! She looked amazing and she actually seemed like she didn't much mind being here tonight, dressed for a ball and having to dance.

Now that he thought about it, this quinceanera thing was starting to grow on Lincoln. Then the boy remembered that the dance that was coming fast wasn't going to be another rehearsal with Lynn, he would actually have to have Ronnie Anne as a partner.

Lincoln's knees felt weak. Was Ronnie Anne going to be mad at him? Was she roped in this like he was? Did Lori call Bobby to make him pull his sister into it? What if Lincoln stepped on her foot? The boy was grateful the dim lighting was hiding his trembling.

A minute passed before something was heard from inside the house. Doors were being opened and voices were heard.

"The hair stylist you paid for was a bit expensive, papa." a female voice was heard from an open window

"Well, it is your birthday after all." a man replied.

"Thanks again for driving me to the mall." presumably Carrie said. "Where's mama?"

"Hmm, not sure, have you tried the back yard?" he replied merrily.

"What would she be doing in the back..." the girl asked as the door leading to the yard started to open.

"Surprise!", everyone shouted out of sync as Carrie stepped out into the back yard. The lights were turned back on, confetti filled the air and party horns were blown.

The birthday girl stood dumbfounded in the doorway as little paper squares were falling on her hair. She looked a lot like her mom - she was tall, with brown eyes, had dark skin and auburn locks with fresh blond highlights. She wore her everyday ensemble of genes and a pinkish blouse. At the moment she had an expression on her face alluding to confusion, worry and ire at the same time. She turned towards her mother who was approaching her from the crowd of relatives.

"Darn it, mama! I told you I didn't want anything special! This was supposed to be a family dinner." Carrie told her mother who hugged her in response.

"You know I can't do anything but the best for my princess." Sophia said as she backed from the hug.

"Besides, it's still a family dinner, we just invited a few more family members." a middle-aged man said as he came up behind Carrie and put a hand on her shoulder.

The girl had a bittersweet smile on her face as she hugged both her parents.

"Come on, honey, let's not keep everyone waiting. We've got a beautiful dress to get you into." Sophia ushered Carrie inside.

"Mama! How much did this..." her voice faded with them going inside.

As they got out of view, the cacophony in the back yard started picking up again. Last minute preparations continued and guests and relatives resumed conversing. Maria went on to arrange everything for the quinceanera's official entrance.

With the distraction of the surprise being sprung ending, Lincoln turned to the girl next to him again. When her eyes met his, he felt the butterflies in his stomach resume their dance. The boy knew that if he didn't avert his eyes he'd undoubtedly start blushing again, but at the same time he didn't want to stop experiencing this feeling of being light-headed every time he looked at Ronnie Anne.

She was looking back at Lincoln with a faint smile and he felt like he was going to combust if he didn't dissolve the tension.

"So... We're into this court of honor thing, huh." he tried to think of something.

"Yeah... I mean, I wanted to surprise Carrie and all, but this..." she looked at her getup and his. "I didn't think of this."

"And the whole dancing business..." Lincoln trailed off. "Crazy, huh."

"Yeah... That's a thing I guess."

The conversation was going as well as Lincoln guessed it would. The thought that this wasn't going to be another pretend dance with Lynn was settling in and it wasn't doing any favors for his nerves.

"I bet your sisters drove you crazy." Ronnie Anne tried to continue the conversation.

"Yeah, uh... they like to... take things into their own hands." Lincoln rubbed his arm awkwardly.

"My mom had me practicing with Bobby." the girl said.

"They must've planned it all out." Lincoln guessed.

"Yeah, this whole thing turned out to be a bit more... serious."

"Yeah... Aunt Sofie made sure tonight is awesome, though." he took the opportunity to peel his eyes off of Ronnie Anne. And her flowing hair. And her shining eyes. And her rosy cheeks. And...

"Listen, Lincoln, about tonight and the dance..." Ronnie Anne started.

"Come on, everybody, let's move back a little." Maria interjected, ushering all the dancers. "We need to clear a bit of space." she said as she waved the court of honor back.

With a mixture of hand gestures, instructions and smiles, she managed to get them into formation. Seven boys and six girls made a "V" shape on the dance floor again, opening up towards the house entrance. Every pair was separated and placed across from each other, the one extra boy waiting at the center, being the birthday girl's dance partner. On each side there were boys and girls alternating, making for a red and blue lane of sharply dressed court members.

Every one of them depicted a different stage of anxiousness, shifting their weight from one foot to the other, trying to keep a polite smile on. Lincoln was chief among them, feeling the pressure mount. It was a good thing Ronnie Anne was across the dance floor, Lincoln didn't know if he'd be able to keep it together otherwise. On top of his nervousness concerning his... dance partner, he had to deal with the onset of stage fright. He was used to being in front of a few people, there were many performers back home and Lincoln helped them out and sometimes even did something himself. But this... So many eyes on him. So many expectations. What if he messes up? Would Carrie be upset? Would aunt Sofie be disappointed? Would Lori make him clean the bathroom for a whole month? Lincoln could feel perspiration dotting his brow despite the pleasant evening breeze.

While the boy was alternating between worrying about all the eyes that would be set on him and the pair that were going to be right in front of him, the rest of the organizers managed to get everything in relative order. All the tables were set, all the streamers were put up and all the guests were positioned. Jolly murmur filled the minutes while the birthday girl was getting ready.

When Carrie did come, the entrance was grand. Her parents preceded her and as they stepped out, Luna's band started a slow, solemn melody. More confetti filled the air, away from the birthday girl's path this time. And when she finally stepped into the brightly lit yard, Carrie was gorgeous. She wore an elegant light-purple gown. It had lace all over its shoulders and body and running down the big wavy skirt. The sleeves were adorned with beautiful floral patterns running along the see-through fabric they were made of.

Carrie stood at the entrance for a moment, letting the attendants marvel at her elegance and letting her take in all of the preparations and the many guests. Seeing everything that was arranged for her tonight made her face show a mixture of apprehension and joy.

After a moment, Carrie's father approached her again and put a beautiful silvery tiara on her head. She bowed lightly and received the shiny crown with a face still showing both happiness and nervousness. The crowd of guests exhaled a collective sigh of approval.

By that time, Sofia had managed to rearrange the closest relatives and the court of honor in somewhat of a line in front of the birthday girl, all ready to give her their gifts. Lincoln was somewhere in the group of chambelanes and damas, chrysanthemum held.

When his turn came, Lincoln's brain was hardly up to the task of remembering the birthday wish Lucy had written for him.

"Lincoln, right?" Carrie said with a smile as he stepped up to her. "Heard a lot about you."

"You have?" Lincoln was pulled back into reality. "I mean… Happy birthday, Carrie, I hope uh… all your surprises are as unpleasant as this one." he said, improvising.

"Ha, ha! Thank you very much, Lincoln." Carrie said and smelled the pink flower he gave her, dazzling smile ever present.

After Carrie received the final gift, Sofia stepped back from her daughter with a smile on her face as her husband extended a hand to the quenceanera. At that the band, headed by Luna, started playing a slow, classic sounding tune.

As Carrie's dad led her to the dance floor, the court of honor made a few steps back, letting the two get under the lights, illuminating the center of the yard. The father and daughter started a simple slow dance under the pleased gazes of all present. Lincoln felt a little awkward watching the two have a heartfelt moment in front of him, but guessed the general idea of the whole evening was to celebrate Carrie's connections and bonds. Lori had mentioned something about symbolism and the parents letting go of their daughter into adulthood. Or something like that, the details were blurry in his head.

Lincoln made sure not to waste the time the father and daughter were moving under the sounds of Luna's guitar and got right into stressing about the fact that he was next in line for the dance floor. Everyone was watching the couple in the lights' beams. Everyone was going to watch him as well! The slow dance in front of him seemed relaxed and improvised, Lincoln's was going to be choreographed. There were so many things that could go wrong! And Carrie was just dancing with her dad, Lincoln was going to be paired with...

The boy turned his head to the other side of the neat formation he was a part of again. Ronnie Anne was standing almost as stiff as he was, but her expression was that of grim determination in contrast of the boy's unconcealed nervousness.

Her gaze shifted from her dancing relatives and was about to fall on the white-haired boy but Lincoln turned away before their eyes met. He swallowed with difficulty.

"Oh, man! She's looking at me! Stay calm, Lincoln. Don't look like a spaz. Ease up. Act natural." he told himself. "Relax your shoulders. Don't make this any more awkward than it already is." he tried fixing his posture, but he could feel he was powerless to alleviate his nervous petrification.

Before Lincoln could figure a way to gain some modicum of composure back, the music stopped and the first dance between the birthday girl and her father was over. The boy's time was up.

Lincoln was on the verge of panic. He needed more time. Why was the first dance so short? Why didn't he go through his steps in his head? Why couldn't he remember the first pose? Why was the court of honor going to the center of the dance floor? Why were his feet carrying him forward? Why was Ronnie Anne getting closer?

Lincoln could feel a warm wave wash over him, the lightness in his stomach ever present. He could bet his face was the color of his shirt. His mouth was as dry as a desert. His body didn't even bother shaking any more. It just carried him towards the girl in blue.

She was in front of him now. He could no longer avert his gaze. Lincoln looked up and their eyes met. The rest of his surroundings got blurred by their irrelevance.

"She's so pretty." was the only coherent thought that went through his head.

Lincoln's brain was starting to get overloaded. The boy was losing grip on his ability to make autonomous decisions and his autopilot was kicking in. The long hours of rehearsing were starting to guide his movements without his urging.

"Her face is so different when she doesn't tie her hair up. Her dress is swaying when she moves. Her flower is nowhere near as pretty as..."

Luna's drummer bandmate started hitting his drumsticks against one another. The song was about to start.

Before it began Ronnie Anne reached and put her hand on Lincoln's shoulder. He automatically put his hand on her waist. Without thinking they assumed the initial stance along all the others and their free hands met. A shiver went down Lincoln's spine.

The first chords of the song rang out and in the middle of the silent yard the dancers started their waltz. The chambelan de honor led the birthday girl into the dance she hadn't rehearsed and the other eight dancers arranged themselves in front of the two, blue and red surrounding purple. A vague picture of the diagram Lola had shown Lincoln flashed in his mind for the briefest moment and he moved to the correct position. Ronnie Anne went along and the boy couldn't help but notice how she moved. Not like she was charging towards the arcade, not like she was running home after school, she moved carefully and slowly.

"Gracefully." Lincoln thought of a word he rarely used.

Carrie and her escort made their first few steps under the sounds of the band's music and the four couples of the court of honor spun around them and fanned out to make a pattern in front of them once more, this time opening up towards the onlookers. Lincoln held Ronnie Anne's hand as she made a twirl and the skirt of her dress flowed with her movement.

From this point on the dance choreography was more centered on the birthday girl. The accompanying dancers were on both sides of her, focusing on their partners and letting the main two take central stage.

Lincoln's world had shrunk considerably. Right now it was comprised of himself, a girl in a blue dress and a blur of movements and music.

The hours of detestable rehearsals were coming into effect. Lincoln was moving to the rhythm of the band's music without a thought. Even if there were moments when he erred or didn't remember the next step, Ronnie Anne was there to compensate. To the onlookers it seemed like there were no mistakes made. And to Lincoln the steps themselves were hardly even registering. What his senses were able to focus on, was taking all of his attention.

The boy in the frilled red shirt was switching the little concentration he had left between the myriad sensations the situation was presenting him.

Ronnie Anne's hair waved with each movement of their dance. Her hand was firmly holding his. The cool night air felt wonderful on Lincoln's flustered face. His feet were moving with an ease that wasn't there in his earlier dancing. Ronnie Anne's perfume smelled of sweet lilac. The party lights made the shadows on Ronnie Anne's face dance. The feeling Lincoln had in his stomach was worrying and wonderful at the same time.

Lola had told her brother to remember to look his partner in the eye. That advice was superfluous. He could only do so much to try and stop himself.

"I don't want this to end..." Lincoln thought as the dancers swung in order to intertwine both their arms together and twirl as the music rose and fell. He realized the oddity of the idea. If someone had told him how he'd feel tonight, Lincoln would have thought them crazy.

"Yet here we are." he mused as he turned again towards Ronnie Anne.

Lincoln's eyes fell upon the cause of his trepidations and as their gazes met, he felt like his reality centered itself on a single point again.

He could feel his heart's quickened pace. The butterflies in his stomach were mirroring the steps of the dance. The scent of the two dancers' perfumes filled the air. Every breath the boy took made his head a little dizzy. Were the two not holding each other, Lincoln wasn't sure he wouldn't stumble.

"Is this what being drunk is?" the boy thought.

Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were moving in a dynamic equilibrium under the sounds of the band's waltz. The boy let go of his partner with his left hand, stepped back and helped Ronnie Anne make a twirl that spun her dress in a flurry of blue fabric. The two made the few steps following the twist and they struck a pose, one hand on their partner's waist, one outstretched and both facing each other.

The triumphant silence that followed the finale of the dance was long enough for the two young dancers to manage to re-surface from the depths of each other's eyes.

The applause that followed signaled the end of their choreography and as they made way for the free dance to take place, Lincoln couldn't help but let a thought go through his mind.

"It was over so quick..."

Him and Ronnie Anne retreated to one side of the festive back yard without a clear destination. They passed the corner where the musicians were set up and Lincoln absentmindedly noticed Luna was about to comment something with the smug smile she so commonly employed. His sister was interrupted by her drummer bandmate signaling the start of a new song.

As guests young and old headed to the now vacant dance floor, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne found themselves at one of the food tables. Merry chatter and hurried movement surrounded them in a flurry of people that were preoccupied in the festivities, the two little dancers being largely ignored

Lincoln's pulse was still fast, his breaths a little heavy, the dance and the situation still gripping his little heart. He tentatively turned to the girl next to him.

Ronnie Anne was still flustered as well, the blush on her face giving her a glow that made Lincoln once again wonder how rude he's being for staring.

"Some dance, huh..." he tried striking a semblance of a conversation.

"Yeah... Sure was something..." she gave a sideways smile, still looking abashed.

Lincoln wasn't sure whether she was annoyed by what had just transpired. He wasn't even sure how he felt about it. Earlier today he would have done anything to get out of what seemed like torture and here he was, feeling like it was over too soon.

"Good thing it's over, huh..." Lincoln said through the haze that was still in his head, attempting to discern Ronnie Anne's mood. He tried his best to look some place different from her for a change.

"I mean... It could've been worse, I guess." she did little to show her attitude.

Lincoln was becoming aware that their conversation was drifting towards awkwardness as usual. He didn't want whatever they were having to end too soon, like the dance did.

"You, uh... think it's OK to get some cake now?" he diverted.

"All that spinning around did make me hungry." Ronnie Anne perked up after the minute of uneasy interaction.

"Awesome, time to put the plan into action." Lincoln said.

"You always gotta have a plan, don't you." she smiled a familiar smile.

"It pays to be prepared when you have so many sisters messing around with your parties." Lincoln said with a smile of his own, looking at Luna, who was getting into the song she was performing.

"Bring me some as well while you're at it, OK? I'm gonna try something too." Ronnie Anne's smile was still contagious.

"Meet you at the corner of the garage?" he asked?

"Get me a slice with lots of strawberries." she answered and went into the crowd of relatives and guests.

Lincoln looked at her bright blue dress disappear into the crowd and took a moment to add the thought that Ronnie Anne was having fun to his already elated mood.

He turned sharply to the table holding the sweet treats.

"So many sweet things tonight..." the boy thought as he circumvented known an unfamiliar people to get to the back of the yard.

He reached the table and waited for some of the guests present to take their plates before he claimed his share. Sofia was helping with dividing the impressive cake into servings at the other end of the table and Lincoln was able to procure a couple of slices. Following his plan from earlier, he made his way to the punch bowl and managed to somehow balance two plates of cake and two cups in his arms at the same time.

He then carefully navigated to the yard fence and around the majority of the kerfuffle in order to reach the desired destination. An adult Lincoln didn't know was taking a folding chair from the bunch of stacks someone had gotten out of the garage when he got there. As the man left, Lincoln was pleased to see that the little retreat he had spotted earlier wasn't completely blocked by the change of scenery. In fact, it was now even more secluded.

"Good luck finding me now, sis." Lincoln thought, pleased, as he made his way around the little towers of chairs.

He put his treasures carefully on the curb, trying not to drop the little plastic forks, and the sweet smell of the cake made his stomach remind him he had been looking forward to this all day.

The plates and cups being on the ground didn't seem right so Lincoln took a couple of the chairs cluttering his little alcove and unfolded them next to the garage wall. He put the treats he brought on them, making for a couple of improvised tables and clearing a bit of space in the process.

As he was moving another chair out of the way, Lincoln's anxious thoughts started creeping back.

"Will Ronnie Anne think this is too much? This place is pretty well hidden now. Why'd I put the chairs like that? This way we'll be standing right next to each other. I didn't do that on purpose. Right?"

As he was contemplating aborting the plan altogether, a flurry of blue fabric could be seen through the plastic and metal of the chair stacks.

"Too late for that." Lincoln thought as he waved over the furniture divide.

"Over here." he called out and in a moment Ronnie Anne's head peaked through the gap.

Seeing her in her pretty hairstyle, with the flower in her hair and an expression of mild surprise, made Lincoln's stomach spasm again. He swallowed with difficulty.

"Neat spot." the girl commented as she made her way through to him.

She was carrying cups and plates herself and Lincoln stepped aside to let her get to the impromptu tables.

"Cool setup." she said after she put her food down and looked around bemused.

"Yeah, uh... Told you I had a plan." Lincoln rubbed the back of his neck. He nervously leaned against the garage wall next to his little food table.

"I may not have thought this through... There isn't that much space back here now." his thoughts were starting to get him flustered again as Ronnie Anne got next to him. She was so close...

"Thanks for the cake." she said with a smile. "Here." she handed him a plate and a cup.

He put the plastic plate full of what were unmistakably churros on his chair and looked at the cup in his hand.

"Thanks, uh... what is it?" he asked, looking at the cup full of what looked like fruit.

"Told you all the prancing about made me work up an appetite. Thought you might have too." Ronnie Anne smiled. "It's mango. Try it."

Lincoln took the little fork stuck in the pile of fruit and inhaled the unfamiliar yet enticing smell of the snack. He was hungry indeed and bit down on a big juicy piece of mango which turned out to be chilled, probably being taken out of a fridge not too long ago.

"Ronnie Anne's so considerate..." Lincoln thought. It was nice knowing she was thinking about him and a warm sensation washed over him. He swallowed the piece of fruit and the sensation got even stronger.

"Man, I'm really starting to blush again..." Lincoln thought. "Right?"

As he was about to take another piece from his cup, Lincoln realized something was wrong.

He wasn't blushing, his tongue was burning. The fruit was actually spicy.

The boy inhaled sharply, mouth wide open and he scrambled for his punch, unintelligible sounds of panic escaping.

Ronnie Anne who was taking a sip of her own punch at that moment did a spit take at the sight of Lincoln downing his drink in a panic and breathing heavily, holding his chest.

The girl was full on laughing, punch dripping down her chin and Lincoln looked at her in a huff.

"You said..." he took a big breath. "This was fruit!" he said accusingly, grateful for the cherry punch quenching his mouth.

"It is..." she said, trying to stop her laughing. "It's mango..." another chortle slipped out. "With chili powder."

"Why would anyone make this?" the boy asked, looking at the fine red sprinkling on top of his fruit.

"It's real nice." Ronnie Anne said, still grinning. "You just gotta take smaller bites." she added and demonstrated by taking a bite of her own fruity snack.

Lincoln was highly suspicious as he looked back at his own cup, but he was hungry and the spice didn't seem so strong in his mouth anymore. He took a cautious bite out of one of his pieces of mango and now that he was prepared for it, the chilled mix of sweet fruit and spicy powder was actually kind of refreshing.

The two kids were silent for a minute, enjoying their treats.

"So what is this called?" Lincoln asked as he drank the last of the sweet mango puree on the bottom of his cup, the majority of the hot powder having been on the top.

"Mangonada." Ronnie Anne said. "I'm guessing you liked it?" she added with her usual half smile.

"It's not bad, might try and make it actually. Though I really need more punch right now." he answered.

"Yeah, I'm out too, could you get me a cup? And some napkins too, your little act made me spill mine. It was real funny though." she said slyly.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it." Lincoln said in feigned insult and left to go get a couple more drinks.

Despite his little spicy predicament, he couldn't help but feel great. The food was good, his plan was working, the topic of the awkward dance hadn't even come up. The kind of nice, enjoyable, awkward dance.

"Things are pretty good." he thought to himself. "A little too good..."

As he was standing amidst the chatting guests and happy relatives on his way to the punch bowl, Lincoln tried to discern what felt wrong. And then he realized it. The music had stopped.

"Darn it!" he thought, knowing what that meant. "Luna's on the prowl!"

The boy looked around frantically, searching for his sister's tall figure in the crowd of partygoers. After a few panicked seconds he spotted the signature getup Leni had made for her.

Lincoln wasted no time and swerved into the crowd, circumventing the threat and headed towards his goal by an alternate route. As he got to the table with the punch, he sighed with relief, happy his sister-sense was still working.

"Thirsty, little bro?" he cringed, hearing a familiar raspy voice behind him.

"Maybe my sister-sense needs a little more improvement. There's more than one person with clothes like Luna's, duh." he reprimanded himself as he turned to face his sibling.

"Uh, yeah, getting some punch." Lincoln forced a grin as he looked up to his meloman of a sister.

"Some punch for you and the girlfriend, huh." Luna said with a sly smile.

"No, no, I was uh... just thirsty because of this mangonada and..." Lincoln tried to talk his way out of the looming threat of sisterly intervention.

"You're holding two cups, Linc." Luna pointed out, unimpressed.

"Yeah, I was, uh... going to get some for you too. Playing music's thirsty work. Heh, heh." Lincoln let out a nervous laugh, feeling pressured.

"There's punch left in the cups cuz you two've been drinking from 'em." she pointed out "You ain't a smooth criminal, bro." Luna stepped closer, looking down on Lincoln.

"I'm not gonna let you waste this awesome..." she started saying ominously when someone put a hand on her shoulder.

Both Luna and her brother turned to see the birthday girl in her grand purple dress.

"Hey, Lune. Awesome jams out there." she greeted.

"Carrie! Happy birthday, girl!" Luna congratulated her friend, seemingly forgetting Lincoln. "Aren't you a million and one candle lights."

"Thanks!" Carrie beamed. "Say, speaking of lyrics, can you do a girl a solid? I really want to hear this one song."

"Just say the name, girl."

"Do you know how to play Despacito?" Carrie asked with a smile.

"I mean..." Luna was surprised. "Birthday girl is always right, and all..." she trailed off with a wince.

"I'm joshing, Lune." Carrie grinned. "Come on, I really want you to play this one thing for me." she said and grabbed Luna's hand, pulling her away.

Lincoln was standing there, hardly believing his luck, when Carrie turned, right before vanishing into the crowd and gave the boy a knowing wink. He had no idea what just happened, but he wasn't going to waste this lucky break. He reached for the ladle and poured punch in the two cups as fast as he could and scrambled back towards his little hideout before he could be set upon any more trouble.

As he was closing in on the safe haven, he heard a song start and lyrics being sung in Spanish.

"Subeme la radio que esta es mi cancion…" he heard on the loudspeakers and even though he couldn't understand them, he could make out that both Luna and Carrie were at the microphone, one faring better with the Spanish than the other.

"Started thinkin' you weren't gonna make it back." Ronnie Anne said with her wily smile as Lincoln finally got to their little corner of the yard.

It took the boy a moment to snap out of just looking at the girl in order to process what she had said.

"Y-yeah, I almost didn't." he finally answered. "Luna sneaked up on me and was about to lay her meddling on me, when Carrie came and grabbed her away. It was the luckiest thing." he explained as he handed Ronnie Anne her punch and napkins.

"I don't know about lucky, heh, heh." the girl laughed.

"It wasn't funny when it happened..." Lincoln said with confusion.

"You're not the only one with a plan, Link." she smiled, wiping the punch off her chin. "I asked Carrie if she could keep your sis busy after she was done dancing."

"You did?"

"Yeah, figured Luna'd be messing with you, so I asked my cuz if she could help out. I know my mom sure was gonna try to butt in if I hadn't managed to dodge her and hide here." she finished, taking a bite of one of her churros.

"Wow, thanks, Ronnie Anne, you're a life saver."

"Yeah, you know, wouldn't be much good if you hadn't found this spot." the girl pointed out. "Guess we still make a good team, huh." she finished, smiling.

"Yeah, heh. I guess we do." Lincoln said awkwardly, taking some of his own churros.

"Kinda like the dance thing…" Ronnie Anne added, bashfully looking to one side.

Lincoln could feel his ears flare up again at the mention of the little number they did not too long ago.

"The dance, huh..." he was still not sure how he felt about it.

"Yeah, you know..." she continued, eyes still fixed on the ground. "I thought it was gonna be bad, right?"

"Uh-huh..." Lincoln said.

He sure hadn't looked forward to the dance before he got here neither.

"It wasn't that bad though..." she mused.

"Could have been worse, I guess..." the boy agreed.

It was awesome, really. The slow movements, the music, her being close…

"I mean, my mom and Bobby were real annoying these past few days." Ronnie Anne continued.

"I can imagine." he said.

So she also got roped into rehearsals and lessons just like him.

"Guess your sisters were being a drag too, huh?" she asked

"A bit more than usual, I guess." Lincoln replied.

It wasn't that bad, really. He had had worse. And maybe it was kind of worth it?

"But once we get here, it wasn't that bad…" Ronnie Anne continued.

"Aunt Sofie really outdid herself tonight." the boy pointed out.

She did, didn't she? The party really was cool when Lincoln thought about it.

"And hanging out with you is nice, even though we gotta be all fancy and stuff." Ronnie Anne looked up at the night sky.

"I, uh... Like hanging out too." Lincoln gulped.

And he didn't mind the fancy stuff that much anymore. Ronnie Anne looked awesome in her dress.

"Food's good too." she continued.

"I can't say no to good food..." he said

It wasn't every day that he had snacks and cake for dinner.

"And we managed to get the relatives to leave us alone, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're kinda good at that." he agreed.

They did make a pretty good team. In a lot of things, really.

"Lincoln?"

"Yeah?"

"Tonight isn't a total drag, right?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"I mean... I kinda roped you into this, you know?" she asked hesitantly.

"Weren't we going to stop worrying about that kind of stuff?" Lincoln reminded her.

"Yeah, but..."

"Ronnie Anne." he interrupted her. "Tonight's awesome. There's tasty food. The dance was... great. We're here hanging out."

"Just the two of us..." he continued in his mind, also looking up to the stars.

To emphasize the point, Lincoln picked up his cake and took a big bite of the kiwi, strawberry, cream goodness. It was as delicious as it looked.

The girl next to him said nothing, but her lack of protest told Lincoln he had at least quelled her worries about tonight a little bit and she also took her cake.

"Ronnie Anne's been trying to look out for me lately, hasn't she... I mean not that it's weird for friends to do that..." he thought as he stuck a slice of kiwi with his fork.

Lincoln dared to look over to her and she seemed to be as deep in thought as he just was, picking pieces of strawberry from her cake.

"She has been real cool tonight..." he thought.

"Hey, Ronnie Anne?"

"Hmm?" she looked over, mouth full of fruit and vanilla cream.

"You want my strawberries?" he asked, pointing with his fork.

The girl in blue swallowed with a questioning look on her face.

"Don't you like strawberries?"

"No one back home really likes sour stuff so we rarely get any." he explained. "Trade you my strawberries for your kiwis?"

Ronnie Anne looked at his plate for a second, then at hers.

"Sure." she simply said and Lincoln could have sworn he saw a little blush on her face.

Making her get a bit flustered made Lincoln feel really good for some reason. He really liked the sensation. He wanted to feel it more.

He picked the strawberries from his piece of cake and scooped them over to Ronnie Anne's plate, her doing the same with her kiwis.

For a minute there was only silence and the taste of fruity delight.

Lincoln couldn't help but smile. There was a pleasant breeze making the two's hair wave, cooling them down in the warm summer evening. The sounds of whatever song Carrie had requested of Luna's band were still being carried over the guests' happy murmur. The lights of the party were dimmed in the two's little corner. Lincoln's belly was full of delicious snacks. He was standing in the summer twilight next to his friend… who also happened to be a girl.

"This is pretty awesome." the boy thought.

"Hey, Link?" Ronnie Anne broke the silence.

"Hmm?" he said blissfully.

There was a considerable pause, Lincoln happily gazing at the stars, visible despite the city's lights.

"You know those times you kissed me?"

Lincoln almost choked on the last piece of cake he was about to swallow.

"W-What?" he coughed, turning to Ronnie Anne. She was looking at her feet, trying to avoid Lincoln's eyes.

"That time in front of your house... And at the restaurant." she said hesitantly. "Why'd you do it?" she was still averting her gaze.

"Well, um…" Lincoln tried to sound like he was thinking about it long enough to compose himself. He would have put his hand on his chin to underline his feigned puzzlement, but he feared he'd burn his fingers on his face that was ablaze with the blush of all blushes.

"You know…" he also looked at the ground. "I wasn't sure why you were picking on me back then…" he was struggling. "And my sisters kinda made me…"

Ronnie Anne was saying nothing, letting him fumble as hard as he could.

"And then at the restaurant I didn't know how to make you stay… I insulted you, I had to apologize somehow... And Lori said actions speak louder than words and…"

"So you didn't want to?" Ronnie Anne interrupted Lincoln's rambling, turning towards him.

"What…" he started saying in his surprise and also turned to her.

A miscalculated move.

Both of them leaning against the garage wall, Ronnie Anne was standing right next to him, gaze fixed on him. The light wind was blowing her locks gently. The lights of the party lamps were reflecting in her eyes. Her blush was making the freckles on her cheeks stand out. A new song was playing somewhere in the background. "Please tell me why should I let you go, go, go" the lyrics read, even if the boy wasn't registering any of them.

Lincoln's brain was malfunctioning. Whatever words were about to leave his mouth were gone and it remained agape. His heart was beating a mile a minute. His stomach felt like it was full of butterflies that were as panicked as he was.

"Do something, Lincoln, come on!" he managed to think, trying to get a hold of himself, desperately searching for anything to say.

"You, uh… got some crumbs on… your lips…" was what got out.

Another miscalculation.

He couldn't look away from said lips now.

The boy gulped with difficulty.

His pulse was drumming in his ears.

Ronnie Anne was so close.

She was so pretty.

Lincoln's breath stopped in his lungs.

He closed his eyes.

Her lips tasted of strawberries and cream.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **You are going to have to excuse my taste in music. Here's to hoping your marginal enjoyment of this piece of text is not impeded by it.**

 **The song Luna was referencing when talking to Lincoln was "Smooth criminal" by Michael Jackson, the one she was referencing when talking to Carrie was "Maria" by Blondie. The song that Luna and Carrie sang was "Subeme la radio" by Enrique Iglesias. The song Lincoln didn't hear when he was behind the garage was "Go go go" by The 89ers. Let's say Luna's band had a synthesizer in order to be able to play it. Even if it's not the nightcore version. I know it isn't overtly a love song, but we don't want to get too on the nose, now do we.**

 **I don't listen to this kind of music all the time, I'm into heavy metal, guys, you gotta believe me!**

 **On a side note, take a shot every time you read the word "smile" in this chapter, and I guarantee, the reading experience will change pretty fast. We're still not reaching "Carol likes Luna" levels, but we're getting there. That one's great by the way, you can go to JamesSunderlandsPillow's page and take a look at it, it's a good read. Now if you took a shot every time I made you read an ellipsis…**

 **All that aside, here we are folks, 10 chapters and some 41 000 words later we finally got a kiss. If that's not a slow burn, I don't know what is. I know my upload schedule doesn't show it, but don't let anyone tell you I rush things. Don't know if it was worth the wait, but I had this envisioned for some time now and I'm kinda glad we made it. Wouldn't have felt right if I didn't try and make it at least a little special. Now that I think about it, I probably laid the sappy romance a little too thick in this chapter, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for it.**

 **I need to once more express my gratitude towards icecreampizzer and Silent-Sid over at Deviantart for letting me utilize their art. Seriously, go look at "The Loud House - Perchance to Dance", it's especially created for this fic and it made my day when I saw it.**

 **Long story short, thank you for reading, hope you're enjoying the ride.**


	11. Chapter 11

Lincoln's world completely stopped. There was nothing but the lips pressed against his. And they were making his mind go blank. There were no thoughts, no worries, no anxiety.

Only sensation.

As suddenly as it had occurred, it ended. Lincoln thirstily drew a breath he didn't know was missing. He could swear stars were fading from the corners of his vision. Was the earth beneath his feet spinning gently?

The boy blinked a few times to try and regain his composure.

Ronnie Anne was as struck as he was, drawing heavy breaths and sporting a face showing both surprise and elation.

Lincoln was sure he couldn't get any redder but managed to keep enough presence of mind to entertain a thought.

"What do you do after a kiss?" he pondered. "Get a black eye maybe? Celebrate not being turned pastry shaped by a sister?" he guessed, drawing on past experience.

Him and Ronnie Anne stood still, unsure of what to do. Awkwardness not yet settled in, they did not look away from each other awhile, before the ever present music stopped for an instant.

A new song started somewhere amidst the patty grounds and the two mesmerized youths snapped out of their trance, still panting.

"Every time we touch I get this feeling…" a voice could be heard from the stage.

A need to engage in another kiss was lingering over the two young dancers. Unsure as what to do, their faces remained uncomfortably close. The two hesitated for a moment longer before the reality of the situation made itself manifest.

"Was... was that on purpose?" Ronnie Anne asked, tentatively.

Lincoln was shaken still. Different actions and options were going through the boy's head.

Was he supposed to say "yes"? Make a joke? Was he supposed to kiss her again? He wouldn't mind kissing her again... Was that an option? Or did he have to apologize? Run away maybe? He didn't think his legs were up for that.

"I... uh... I didn't..." Lincoln stuttered. "It wasn't an accident?"

"You don't sound too sure." Ronnie Anne's voice fell with disappointment.

"I don't..." the boy was still overthinking his response, but when he looked at the face of the girl in front of him, his thoughts cleared for once. "I don't know if it was an accident. But it felt right."

Ronnie Anne smiled as she seemed to recover some of her usual moxie.

"You're getting a habit of stealing kisses, aren't you." she smirked.

"Is that... a bad thing?" Lincoln asked hesitantly, doubt about what he had just done creeping back.

"Haven't punched you yet, right?" she said.

"Guess you have..." the boy stopped as Ronnie Anne moved.

She had assumed a fighting stance, ready for a right hook Lincoln knew only too well. He instinctively flinched in anticipation of the punch.

All that happened was him hearing Ronnie Anne's cocky laugh though. He dared open his eyes to see her standing there looking at him grinning. It was a bit odd.

The strange thing wasn't Ronnie Anne taking advantage of his skittishness, that was par for the course. It was her face - she looked happy. Not the "made you look" kind of smug. The "playing at the arcade all day and having pizza afterwards" kind of happy.

"She's OK with this? She liked it? I didn't mess up? Does this mean we're actually..."

The constant ambiance of guests chatting and laughing was abruptly interrupted by a voice coming from the stage. The music had stopped at some point.

"Hello? How does this thing work?" a female voice came muffled by the sounds of the party and the walls of the garage.

"Let me show you how it's done, Mrs. S." Lincoln heard his sister's raspy voice, followed by the audio feedback of someone handling a microphone.

"Darn it!" Ronnie Anne exclaimed. "That's my mom! She's about to give this speech thing she's been preparing!"

"Is that a… bad thing?" Lincoln asked, his mind still focusing on recent matters.

"She's gonna be thanking everyone that helped and that means you and your sis too. We gotta get back in there." Ronnie Anne explained, looking at the stacks of chairs separating them from the party proper. "She might even ask you to say something."

"What, like on stage?" Lincoln got worried.

"Come on, or they'll know we're missing!" Ronnie Anne grabbed his hand.

Despite the frantic situation, Lincoln's body was consistent enough in its reactions to make him start blushing again as the girl in blue held his hand tight and tugged him out of their sanctuary.

Rejoining the crowd of party goers, the two navigated their way closer to the musician's corner while the majority of the guests were focused on the people on stage.

"Thank you, Luna!" they saw Ronnie Anne's mom smile at the formally clothed Loud.

The girl pulling Lincoln behind her looked around and headed to one side of the back yard to sidestep the majority of the crowd.

As he was being led through the guests, Lincoln was struggling to focus on the problem at hand.

"Ronnie Anne's mom is going to be thanking us..." he thought as he absentmindedly looked at her talking to the birthday girl. "She looks great tonight. Guess it runs in the family..." his mind wandered. "Luna's gonna be there too, hope she didn't notice I was missing." he tried focusing on the here and now. "Missing because I was behind the garage, where me and Ronnie Anne were..."

"If I can get your attention for a moment." Maria held the microphone again as she was being joined by Sofia.

"Thank you all for being with us tonight!" the birthday girl's mom took the mic. "Let me try and express how special you all managed to make this evening. I can assure you that Carrie is also very grateful for all of you being here and she would have come up and told you that herself, but she's still cranky about us making this a surprise." she pointed her gaze towards where her daughter stood in the crowd. Carrie promptly stuck out her tongue at her mother and crossed her arms even though she could hardly contain her smile.

"I think what we did tonight was so much fun and Maria is here with me to help express our gratitude to everyone involved."

Ronnie Anne's mom stepped up to the microphone again, sporting the smile that she had been dispensing all evening.

"I would like to thank a few people whose contribution to the quinceañera was even more involved." she said and smiled towards one side of the stage where some formally dressed kids were gathering, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne included.

"First and foremost I'd like to thank Leni Loud for designing the lovely suits and dresses for the court of honor and also making the birthday girl's beautiful gown."

The crowd of guests loudly expressed their approval as Maria continued.

"Unfortunately she told me she couldn't make it tonight because of her quince allergy..." Ronnie Anne's mom said with both disappointment and confusion. "But I know her siblings will send her our love. Speaking of which, let's all give a hand to her sister Luna Loud who volunteered to organize the little band that has been entertaining us all night."

The crowd applauded Luna as her band mates shoved her to the front of the stage.

She took the spot next to Maria, beaming.

"That's all right, Mrs. S. We just hope we shook you all night long." she grinned.

"Tell us, Luna, does your little group have a name?" Ronnie Anne's mom asked.

"I don't know what to tell you, we are just an American band." the rocker winked at the people gathered and stepped back so Maria continued.

"And we couldn't make tonight as special as it was without our lovely court of honor. Come on up, everybody!" she waved the red and blue bunch next to the little stage towards her.

About ten boys and girls crowded the podium and Lincoln and Ronnie Anne got lost in the crowd.

Maria started handing the microphone to the kids for them to say a word or two.

"It was super fun." one boy said.

"I love dancing." a girl smiled.

"The dresses are pretty." another said.

As Lincoln's court-mates were expressing their approval of the festivities, he was struggling to come to his senses, despite him and Ronnie Anne having been separated.

"There's a lot of girls in blue dresses... Should I look for Ronnie Anne?" he thought. "Would that be weird? She didn't mind us..." he didn't finish the thought. "Maybe it's not a good idea for us to be seen together. Luna's still lurking around."

Lost in thought, Lincoln hadn't noticed how he ended up at the front of the group of dancers.

"And here's another little Loud that helped make tonight possible." Ronnie Anne's mom dropped the microphone in his hands.

The boy looked at the device he was now holding with confusion.

"Did you have a good time tonight, Lincoln?" Maria encouraged him.

"Yeah, me and…" he started, before realizing what he was about to say.

Lincoln cursed his knack for getting his mind wandering. He had to try and find his way out of the mess in his head and give a non-compromising answers.

"I, uh... I just can't wait for Carrie's next quinceañera." he finally said.

The laughter that ensued from all around him, led Lincoln to believe that he had managed to dodge the proverbial bullet and he proceeded to back up into the crowd that was on stage.

All of them got back into the mess of guests and Lincoln got lost among them as Maria thanked some of the other guests for their contribution. He wondered what to do next all the while trying to evade the embarrassing thoughts that were plaguing him.

"Should I look for Ronnie Anne? What should I say to her... Maybe it's a good idea to get a breather before talking to her again." he looked around for any clue that would help him figure out what to do next.

The absence of such a sign was underlined by the approach of a familiar figure. While Lincoln was wondering whether it was a better idea to look for cover or to act innocent, Luna was upon him.

"Good show up there, Linc. Made the crowd go wild." she said.

"Yeah, uh... You know. Luan's been rubbing off on me."

"The band's playing for the wrong crowd though. You gotta be out there making your lady friend laugh." Luna crossed her arms.

"I don't know… what you're talking about." lacking a better idea, Lincoln went for the classic response.

"I'm nobody's fool, Linc..."

"Lincoln!" someone finished Luna's sentence.

A girl his age with braided blond hair had made her way through the crowd towards the two.

"Oh, hey, Jordan." Lincoln greeted his classmate, surprised to see her. She was wearing a yellow long sleeved blouse and had changed the usual blue bow in her hair with a purple one to match her long frilled skirt.

"You were real funny just now." Jordan smiled.

"Thanks." Lincoln said. "Um, Luna, this is my classmate, Jordan. Jordan - my older sister Luna." he introduced the two.

"Hey..." Luna greeted reservedly.

"Hello. You were playing with the band, right. You guys were awesome." Jordan said happily.

"Thanks, dude." Luna responded.

"This is so funny, Lincoln, I'm here with my sister too. She's classmates with Carrie." the girl continued.

"She is? So is Luna." he pointed out.

"Wow, really?" Jordan turned to the tall Loud.

She simply nodded, a mixed expression on her face.

"Am I, uh... Interrupting something?" Jordan noticed Luna's perplexity.

"No, uh... You keep doing what you're doing. I gotta go get my equipment." she pointed a thumb backwards.

Lincoln and Jordan looked on as Luna walked backwards a few steps and disappeared into the crowd.

He could hardly believe his luck had manifested twice tonight in order to relieve him of Luna. He wasn't sure why she left him be this time, but it was all the same.

"She seems cool..." Lincoln's savior said and he turned back to her. "Speaking of siblings, I really wanted to ask you about another one of yours. My sis had told me Leni made the dresses and the shirts for the dancers, but I didn't know they'd be so nice. Do you think Leni could make something for me as well?" Jordan asked, her good mood evident.

"Sure, I guess." Lincoln said. "Leni loves making clothes. Not that many of our sisters really like frilly dresses so she'd be happy to make you one if that's what you want."

"Awesome! Do you think you could ask her for me?" her smile widened.

"I could give you her number if you'd like." Lincoln suggested.

After a few more exchanges, Jordan had acquired Leni's number and Lincoln had distracted himself from his pressing thoughts of dark haired girls both tall and short.

As he turned back to face the party after the fortunate meeting, Lincoln noticed that it was winding down. People were hugging each other goodbye, others were giving their final congratulations to the birthday girl and some were getting last servings of their favorite snack. Even as the merry day was coming to an end, smiles and laughter were still filling the air.

Luna and her bandmates were packing their instruments and Lincoln knew him and his sister would be leaving soon.

Rampant thoughts or not, Lincoln couldn't shake the feeling he needed to see Ronnie Anne again. Was there enough time? Could they find a place away from prying eyes for a bit? Was it worth the risk?

As Lincoln's indecisiveness was gripping him, fate swept him up in the wave of good-byes and thank yous around him as people came to talk to him.

Aunt Sofie pinched his cheek one last time, Carrie complimented him on his sense of humor and Jordan wished them both an easy history test next week. And finally, as Maria thanked Lincoln for his contribution and sent her regards to Leni, Lincoln got his wish and saw Ronnie Anne who was with her mom.

Now that he saw her thought, Lincoln was none the wiser as to what to do or say and simply returned the wave Ronnie Anne tentatively directed at him from behind her mother.

Luna approached her brother right after, holding a bunch of guitars and cables and requested his help with carrying them. Not knowing what else to do, Lincoln obliged. Whatever snide remarks Luna had in regards to his dating life, were lost on him on their way to the back of the yard on account of his tumultuous emotions.

"Again..." Lincoln noted as he once more failed to find his way amongst his worry, regret and unfettered yearning to see Ronnie Anne again.

Soon enough Vanzilla's distinct gear shifts could be heard from behind the yard fence. With all the farewells being already said, all that was left was to haul the musical hardware to the trunk and Lincoln seated himself in one of the back seats of the ancient vehicle right after.

Luna took the front passenger seat and her broad smile was not lost on Lori who had come to retrieve her siblings.

"You look like you had a good time." she commented with mild interest and turned to face her brother.

"Did I ever!" Luna wasted no time in initiating her retelling of the night's events, interrupting whatever her sister was about to say. "It was rock and roll all night! They gave us central stage and we lit the party on fire!" Lincoln's musical sister threw up the horns. "The mates were on point, the food was choice and the birthday girl was smashing. She was a riot, too!" Luna continued to her sister's moderate dismay. "You're not gonna believe what she wanted me to play."

"That's nice, Luna, but did Lincoln..." Lori attempted to interject.

"Yeah, Linc laid down the jokes too! There was this time he was on stage and he made everyone laugh..." the excited musician went on.

Attempts of extracting any useful information being seemingly pointless, Lori rolled her eyes and turned the key in the ignition, starting the process of awakening Vanzilla.

With the familiar growl of the old vehicle's engine and the steady stream of anecdotes coming from Luna, Lincoln found himself being relieved of sisterly intervention yet again. Were it due to blind luck or karmic justice for his past days of incarceration, he didn't know, but it was welcome nonetheless. He wasn't sure he would have had either the time or the mental wherewithal to think of an excuse or a lie good enough to steer Lori away from the evening's events. And he was sure if she caught wind of what had happened tonight he wouldn't hear the end of it.

So once more Lincoln was presented with the opportunity to reflect on recent happenings.

It wasn't a day at the skate park that got out of hand. It wasn't a secret outing to the junkyard that took a wild turn. This time whatever happened was on Lincoln and Ronnie Anne. Were they forced to attend tonight's event and dance? Sure. Was what happened during it impulsive and unexpected? Indeed, it was. Was it their own doing though? Surely. And could Lincoln hardly do anything to stop thinking about it? Undoubtedly.

It was as if the boy's stomach was full of puffy clouds that made him feel light and anxious all at once every time he remembered Ronnie Anne's eyes before the two of them...

Lincoln swallowed with difficulty. He looked up from his seat to try and dilute his apprehension. The Loud residence was coming into view - the short trek home was coming to an end.

"And the dude Carrie was dancing with was totally shaking in his cots." Luna was still going on as they all left the car once it was in the driveway.

"Yeah, about the dancing..." Lori tried once more to change the course of the conversation.

"He was a good dancer, yeah, but you could totally tell he wasn't ready for how gorgeous Carrie was looking." her younger sister continued and Lori gave up trying. "Almost makes me want to ask Leni to make me a nice purple dress."

The musical equipment was left in the van to be sorted out in the morning and the three Louds went inside the darkened house. Night had fallen quite a while ago and the house was uncharacteristically quiet, most residents undoubtedly asleep. Lincoln followed his sisters up the stairs, their beds the final destination for the evening and as he looked up, he saw Lori standing at the top, looking at him mildly annoyed.

"Don't think you're off the hook. You'll sing like a bird tomorrow." she said in half whisper before turning to her side of the corridor.

A pang of anger flared in Lincoln's chest at the comment, replacing the sweet apprehension that was there a moment ago.

Happy endings to the evening or not, he was starting to get fed up with his sisters' knack for inserting themselves in everything he did. They were no doubt looking forward to harrying him tomorrow as well.

"I bet they'd like to nag me all day, just to see if their harebrained scheme worked." Lincoln thought with annoyance as he got in his pajamas and went towards the bathroom. "Not that it kinda didn't, I guess..." he mused as he brushed his teeth. "But if they had it their way, I'd probably be buying roses and reciting poetry. If anything, it was hiding from them that got me and Ronnie Anne... hanging together."

Lincoln didn't feel like worrying about his sisters any more.

"They'll get theirs..." he mentally threatened them as he yawned. Now that he was on his way to his bed, he realized he was actually pretty tired. Dealing with siblings would have to wait for tomorrow.

Lincoln's dreams that night were full of princesses. Princesses who swooped in in order to save him from witches so that he could meet a queen. As he woke and stood up in his bed, the last traces of those fading dreams left only the faint idea of impending danger involving females. Lincoln didn't need any premonitions to know what kind of troubles he'd be facing today though.

He took a deep breath to steel himself and tried to think of something, a plan, a ruse that would help him. As his mind turned to the sisters he'd have to deal with, and on what they'd pester him about, he had to stop himself before his thoughts drifted towards a certain dark haired girl. The butterflies were starting to wake in his stomach as well and Lincoln knew he needed to stifle their impending dance if he was to deal with what was coming.

Lincoln had his work cut out for him too. This Monday wasn't a school day for some reason he couldn't remember and even if it was a welcome break from the burden of education, it meant that he'd have to fend off sisters for one more day. Lincoln was determined to at least win back this final free day for himself.

He decided he was going to formulate a plan while tending to his morning routine, distracting himself from any troublesome thoughts in the process. With some luck, his sisters would have enough decency to allow him to collect himself before they descended upon him.

"Shower." Lincoln told one of his sisters on his way to the bathroom as she was about question him.

"Breakfast." he told another while walking to the kitchen and that seemed to work for a time, but when the usual morning routine was done, he ran out of excuses.

"Hope you had fun last night, honey." Lincoln's mom said as he was escorted out of the room by a cordon of sisters. "Play nice, girls. No protocols."

The calm having ended and the storm fast approaching, Lincoln was at least appreciative he had time to think of something.

"Escape is impossible and lying is too risky with so many sisters present for the cross-examination." he had thought while he had a few calm moments. "And there's a witness in Luna too. I'll have to give them something, but not enough to doom myself to eternal sistervention."

And now that he was being led up the stairs, Lincoln was trying to figure just how much he could tell them.

He was led into Lori and Leni's room with all sisters now present inside and if he didn't know better, he might have thought this was a normal sibling meeting. Lincoln was seated on one of Lola's toy chairs in the middle of the room, almost all attention on him. Nine pairs of eyes had fixed him, Lily the only one not participating. She was content with playing with some empty thread spools Leni had given her.

Silence filled the room as the girls waited for their brother to start retelling the night's events. With Lincoln reluctant to begin his own interrogation, it fell upon the archsister to start and Lori stood and gave him some of her best accusatory gaze.

"OK, Lincoln, we got Luna's story already and seeing as she was so busy "blowing up the sunshine" as she put it..." she shifted her eyes towards her younger sister and the rocker plastered a guilty grin on her face. "I'm just going to assume you gave her the slip and did nothing productive, except for the court's dance we actually have footage of." she looked at her phone. "So give us something good, or we'll be forced to start sending."

Lincoln couldn't say he was surprised by the lack of tact and the threats, but it still vexed him that the days of sisterly hegemony had not yet ended.

As for the peril Lori presented, if people were filming with their phones at the party, the whole thing had probably already been shared online since the night before. Still, even if whatever clips Lori had access to were all over the social media and no longer a bargaining chip, Lisa probably still had dirt on Lincoln and that meant he had to spill the beans, at least a little.

"I really liked the food?" he tried his luck. "There were churros and this thing called a mangonada. It was made of..." Lincoln stopped as he could almost hear the growling accompanying the scornful looks he was receiving.

"Lincoln!" Lola raised her voice as she usually did when irritated. "You know what we meant! Tell us what happened with Ronnie Anne."

"Your input would have been quite unnecessary if the quality of the video footage we possess wasn't so unsatisfactory." Lisa added with her usual lisp.

"And I know my plan must have worked, so stop beating around the bush." Lori said, full of herself.

"Yeah, tell us how romantic it was so I can start making the wedding dress." Leni joined in.

That much demanding and self-insertion from his sisters was normal for Lincoln at this point, the days of sibling intervention having somewhat inured him to their words, but one thing they managed to do besides waste his time was that they brought back the dance to the forefront of his mind and the unusual yet pleasant feelings were starting to creep their way back.

The way Ronnie Anne was dressed, the way they moved to the music, the way her eyes were as she looked back at him...

"Lincoln!" Lynn pulled him back to reality.

"The dance was nice!" he blurted out at the sudden jolt.

His outburst seemed to get the horde's attention and Lincoln carefully proceeded to feed them little by little, hoping to sate their hunger for details without giving too much up.

"Everyone liked your dresses, Leni..." he continued. He certainly did.

"Aw." his sister smiled. "That's so nice of them."

"And?" a sister demanded more.

"And… Ronnie Anne liked my red shirt, too." he continued, remembering how she looked at him when they met.

"And?" another urged him.

"And… We managed to do the dance pretty well." he said, thinking about the way they stepped and turned in unison.

"And?"

"And, uh…" Lincoln realized he was starting to get distracted. He needed to lull his sisters' curiosity, not reminisce about what happened yesterday with him and Ronnie Anne. But, man, last night she was…

"And!" someone lost her patience.

"She was so pretty!" Lincoln let his daydream bleed out into reality at his sister's outburst. He blinked a couple of times before he realized what he had done and turned to see all his sisters looking at him surprised.

"Who was?" Lucy asked from somewhere Lincoln didn't expect, further adding to his alarm.

"No, um… I didn't… No one!" he felt like he shrank under the asking gazes of his siblings.

"Lincoln… Tell us." Lori said firmly.

"No, I…" her brother stumbled once more.

Lori stood up impatiently from her seat and was about to walk towards where Lincoln sat. At the clear threat, his little remaining composure broke.

"Ronnie Anne was super pretty!" he cracked from the collective pressure of both the interrogation and the emotions flooding back from his recent memories.

"And we danced and it was awesome and I didn't want it to end and I can't stop thinking about it!" he got out the thoughts that he avoided all morning all at once, eyes closed and panting.

Tentatively, he looked about to see the aftermath of his unintended confession and all around him were sisters on the verge of outburst.

All at once ten voices raised in a collective squeal Lincoln knew was coming. Sisters hugged and jumped, celebrating Lincoln's admission of affection, even Lily joining the celebrations.

The surprise of the elation around him quickly transformed into the cold realization of what Lincoln had said and then into fear as to what that would entail.

"This is really bad." he thought. "I should've just let Lisa release whatever she's got on me… Yeah, that's right actually." he realized. "That would have been better than this."

As the wave of joy subsided around him, gazes turned expectantly towards Lincoln again. The realization of his situation made him oddly calm in anticipation of the next wave of attention.

"Did you dance some more?" Lola asked.

"Did you tell her how her eyes shined like black pearls?" Lucy asked.

"Did you get her number?" Leni chimed in.

"He already has her number…" Luan told her.

"Did you two kiss?" Lana ignored her older sisters.

The hairs on the back of Lincoln's neck stood at the last question, but the cool that had washed over him in the face of the dire situation kept him from doing something that would get him into even more trouble. He had to do something. He was starting to crack - the sisterly attempts to pry information out of him were starting to work.

"I'm… not telling you anything else." he said as firmly as he could and the room got quieter at his words.

"What do you mean you're not telling us anything?" Lori asked with ire.

"Exactly that." Lincoln didn't flinch. "I'm not playing by your stupid rules any more. It's not enough you got me cooped up in this house for three odd days training me to be a dancing monkey, now I have to sing for you too?" he put his irritation into words. "I did all you wanted, I rehearsed all weekend, I went to the party and I danced with Ronnie Anne. That's plenty enough of a punishment for the busted up trailer thing I did last week."

"But you said you liked it." Leni said.

"Yeah, well maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Lincoln crossed his arms. "In any case you're not getting any more entertainment out of me." he declared.

"But you were just getting to the juicy stuff." Lynn said "You gotta tell us what happened next."

"Nope." the boy replied. "Not gonna happen." he shook his head.

"Do I need to remind you, Lincoln…" Lori started saying in her commanding voice. "That we've got footage of you dancing with Ronnie Anne at the party and…" she stressed on the conjunction. "Of you dancing with Lynn as well. We can still show it to all your friends."

"Yeah, well…" Lincoln thought about his classmates. "They've probably already seen the stuff from the birthday party – Jordan was there and she probably had her phone too." Lincoln improvised. "Show them whatever else you've got. It can't get any worse than it already is."

He meant it too. Embarrassment could only go so far to make him do what his sisters wanted. He wasn't going to risk him slipping up again and giving up more of what happened last night.

Lori looked peeved and was about to resume her arguing when Lisa interjected.

"In actuality…" she pushed her glasses up her nose. "A confession is in order. The footage of Lincoln and Lynn's rehearsals seems to be missing from my data vaults."

"What?" a few sisters exclaimed collectively.

"It must have gotten overwritten by experimental data that I uploaded post factum. My apologies." Lisa did a little bow towards her siblings.

As they all expressed their disappointment, his bespectacled sister turned to Lincoln and smiled faintly while the others were distracted.

Lincoln was unsure as to what that meant, but took the good news and made use of them as best he could.

"Even better." he said as he stood up from his little chair. "The way I see it, our business here is done." he started towards the door, taking advantage of his sisters' failing plans.

Protests, pleas and general disappointment surrounded him on his way to the door, but no one stopped him and after a few tense moments he was back in his little abode at the end of the hall.

The sound of unhappy sisters starting to go about their day and discussing their brother could be heard through the thin barrier of his door and Lincoln let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew!" he relaxed a bit after the ordeal that had just transpired.

"I knew it was coming and the questioning still went pretty bad." he mused. "Could have gone worse, I suppose, they don't seem to have anything to extort me with anymore." Lincoln started to relax. "This new Tell Them Just Enough To Get Them Off Of Your Back Without Saying Too Much And Think Of A Shorter Name technique has potential." he noted mentally.

"But the way they made me think of the dance… I really have to be careful." he leaned against his door. "To think they got me saying what happened last night. She really was pretty and I didn't want the dance to end and I really can't stop thinking about it..." he remembered what he had told them and he couldn't help but get swept away by the sweet memories. "The dance, the bright blue dress, her flowing hair…" he reminisced. "How me and Ronnie Anne hid behind the garage. How… we kissed."

Him just saying it out loud made him feel all warm and fluttery inside again.

"Wait... saying it out loud?" he thought.

The sobering thought that he had voiced his thoughts wasn't the only thing to pull Lincoln out of his daydream. The distinct sound of someone coming to an abrupt halt in the corridor in front of his room made him freeze.

"Darn these paper thin walls and my stupid mouth!" the boy thought with despair. Someone had heard him! And right after he had gotten them to leave him alone too.

"Please, please let it be one of the twins!" he thought with desperation. They could at least be reliably bribed. Be it with a shiny piece of plastic jewelry or a frog he could catch at the creek.

As Lincoln was wondering whether he should get his savings or his butterfly net, the door to his room edged open and the unintentional eavesdropper revealed herself.

With a mischievous grin plastered on her face, his sister pushed the door open and looked at her panicked brother. At the sight of who was present for his outburst, Lincoln's heart sank.

"Of all the people who could have heard me..." he thought disheartened.

His sister stood at the entrance to his room, holding the laptop and phone she was returning.

"Did you just..." Lynn began as she inched her way towards a petrified Lincoln standing in the middle of his room.

"No..." Lincoln protested.

"Say that you..." Lynn continued.

"No."

"And Ronnie Anne..." her grin got wider.

"No!" Lincoln hardly managed not to shout.

"Kis..." Lynn was about to finish as her brother desperately put his hands over her mouth.

"Don't say it, they'll hear you!" he said panicking and retracted his hands, realizing he had just admitted to what his sister heard.

"Oh, man, this is rich!" Lynn ignored Lincoln's dismay. "Wait till the others hear this!" she said, smiling ear to ear and left his communication devices as she turned towards the door in order to go and find someone to share the news with.

The girl stopped as she felt something tug at her from behind. She turned with surprise to see her brother hanging by her red and white shirt, a desperate look on his face.

"Lynn, wait!" he exclaimed. "You can't tell!"

"Oh, I sure can." Lynn smiled again. "It's gonna be a riot." she made a step towards the door, Lincoln hardly slowing her down.

Realizing the ineffectiveness of his methods, he jumped to his feet and rushed past his sister to reach the door before her, almost slamming it shut, leaning against it back first.

"Lynn..." he tried to think of something.

"You know you can't stop me, Linc." she smirked at her brother's attempt to halt her. "I can't believe Lori's plan actually worked. She's gonna be so smug about it..." she thought out loud, ignoring the desperation on Lincoln's face.

And he was desperate indeed. Lynn was right. He really couldn't stop her, when she told their other sisters it really was going to be a riot and Lori really was going to be smug about it. He had to do something and fast. This wasn't just about him getting embarrassed in front of his siblings. If word of this got out, it was going to affect Ronnie Anne as well.

Having no time to think of any leverage he might have with his sporty sister, Lincoln resorted to the only option he had left.

"Lynn, please!" he dropped to his knees, having the presence of mind to keep his voice down. "Please, don't tell anyone."

"Come on, Linc." Lynn looked down on her brother with a smirk. "Don't start..."

"I'm begging you!" he grabbed the end of her shirt again. "I'll do anything!"

"Hm..." his sister dropped her smile at the sight of him groveling. "Anything?"

"Anything!" Lincoln bet all his chips on the one gamble he had left. He knew what that meant though, especially if it was Lynn who was going to be taking advantage of his desperate offer. "Just don't tell them I ki..." he gulped. "I kissed her."

"Anything, huh..." Lynn pondered. An offer this big was rare among the Loud siblings. It wasn't every day that you got offered so much power in this household. "So you're going to be my sports partner?" she started small, still unsure of how serious her brother was.

"Yes, I will." he confirmed.

"And you'll give me your dessert?"

"Yes, I will."

"And you'll cook breakfast just for me?"

"Yes, I will."

"And you'll do my chores?"

"Yes, I will."

"And you'll do this for a week? A month?" Lynn wondered how much she could push this. "A year?"

"As long as you want." Lincoln sighed, knowing he was in little position to negotiate.

"And you and Ronnie Anne are going to go on a..." Lynn started saying with a grin.

"Anything that doesn't involve Ronnie Anne." Lincoln gave his one condition. "I'll do all those things you want..." he hesitated. "For as long as you want. Just don't tell anyone." Lincoln said, still on the floor.

"Wow..." Lynn exclaimed. "You're in that deep, bro?" she asked.

Lincoln didn't answer. He didn't know how deep he really was.

Lynn stood silent for a moment. She wasn't used to Lincoln being this passionate about anything besides maybe his stupid comic books. He really was into this girl, huh. And he really was putting his head on the chopping block too - she could get really creative with her demands if she wanted to.

"I can already picture him in the cheerleader outfit..." she thought.

"Tell you what, Linc..." she said and he looked up at her. "I'm feeling pretty merciful - you seem to be in over your head already." she smirked again, Lincoln awaiting his sentence.

"Every weekend you're going to make me breakfast and then you'll play with me anything I want, for as long as I want." Lynn decreed, Lincoln simply nodding. "And this'll go on until I get bored of it." she added, Lincoln nodding again.

"Promise." Lynn asked in a serious tone.

"I promise I'm going to make you breakfast and play with you... every weekend." he said. "You promise too."

"I promise I'm not going tell anyone you kissed Ronnie Anne at Carrie's birthday party." Lynn sealed the deal.

They stood there a moment, Lincoln on the floor, Lynn above him.

"And you should talk to her." she said as she circumvented her brother and got to the door.

"No conditions about Ronnie Anne." he turned to her.

"That's not part of the deal." Lynn stopped at the door. "I'm telling you as your sister." the smirk wasn't hadn't left her face.

As she left Lincoln by himself, he reflected on how odd the last interaction felt. Maybe it was Lynn giving him life advice about relationships? Him selling his freedom right after he had regained it? No... Those things weren't what was odd. They weren't impossible to deal with, he thought.

And then Lincoln realized what felt weird. Not that he had bought Lynn's silence, his weekends being the payment, but what he had really sold them for.

For the opportunity to continue unimpeded. For the freedom to pursue his relationship without sisterly interference.

"My relationship with Ronnie Anne..." Lincoln reflected.

And the thought of it was more frightening than anything Lynn would have him do.

* * *

 **And now for the Local Luna Reference Report:**

" **You shook me all night long" by AC/DC; "We are and American band" by Rob Zombie; "Nobody's Fool" by a lot of people, but let's say Avril Lavigne; "Rock and roll all night" by KISS; "B.Y.O.B." by System of a Down (strong language). The song the band sang as Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were recovering was "Every time we touch" by Cascada.**

 **That taking care of, here we are again, folks. Two months later and another chapter in the sweet, sweet torture I'm subjecting poor Lincoln to. I can't help it – he's so fun to watch when his little heart burns with young love. Either that or I'm just a tad looney, but I never trusted shrinks to begin with so who cares what they say.**

 **Anyways, this chapter got a bit long, but I couldn't force myself to split it in two for easier reading – I hate it when a chapter feels unfinished by the end. Cliffhangers are the worst. But please tell me if it's too long – I could try and make them easier to digest. Also, have to say, you guys shouldn't expect too much going forward – last time was the big kiss and stuff. Chapters from now on are gonna feel kinda inferior, I'm guessing. That being said, I've still got some midnight oil in me, we're not stopping yet.**

 **Thank you for the continued support, your awesome reviews feed my hunger for warm and fuzzies every time I read them. I just wish some of you would register instead of posting as guests. I know it's a hassle, but that way I could PM you when I want to thank you or ask you something. I want to see that picture you made aNobodyFangirl!**

 **I apologize for the inconsistent posting. Hope we read from each other again soon.**


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